Danny Phantom: Project Lazarus
by BlitzVonKrieg
Summary: Two years after the events of Phantom Planet, and Danny's life is finally somewhat balanced. However, a new ghost has gathered some interesting allies for an unknown reason. The only clue is something called "Project Lazarus", and whatever it is, the Observants have seen fit to make the ghostly pirate captain a target. But what is Project Lazarus, and who or what is the Captain?
1. Mapping Mission

It had been two years since Danny Phantom had revealed that he was actually Danny Fenton, and even after that time, the Ghost Zone was still a place that held much mystery. The map that had been started when he and his two comrades were fourteen had been expanded on in a great many ways. They had found the lairs of more of their arch enemies – Ember, Johnny 13, and Spectra to name a few. Like Skulker, Walker, the Fright Knight and Pariah Dark, they had carved out their own floating 'islands' inside the Ghost Zone.

Even so, there were many more places still unexplored. Thus, the three of them made sure to get together once a week – typically a Sunday night – to take the Specter Speeder through the portal and continue mapping out the Zone. Sure, they probably could have just as easily gone to Frostbite and asked to make a copy of _his_ map, but it wasn't just about mapping. No, it was also a way for the three of them to have some time together. Tucker's duties as Mayor kept him busy most of the time outside of school, and while Danny and Sam had been solidly in a relationship for the last two years, it was still nice to have an excuse to get away that nobody would give them grief about.

Today they were going deeper than they had gone in quite some time. A new corner of the ghost zone that they had yet to explore.

"Any idea what might be there?"

"No clue, Tuck." Danny shrugged as he flew point, "But the energy readings are off the charts. Higher levels than Walker's Prison usually has, even with a full guest list."

"Strange that we never noticed it until now, don't you think?" Sam asked as she looked over the readouts. "Careful, Danny. We're getting close. It should be just past those rocks up ahead."

"Right." Danny nodded slightly as he looked ahead. "You guys hang back. I'm going to get closer and check things out."

As the Speeder slowed to a crawl, Danny shot off ahead, moving behind one of the larger floating rocks. Just as he was about to move around it, an ecto-ray shot over the rock and he ducked down.

"Whoa!" He glanced up over his shoulder toward the top of the rock again, then moved around the side of it, peeking around it carefully. What he saw made him furrow his brows in confusion. There stood Walker on what appeared to be a beach, with a full compliment of his guards around him – as if they were storming the beach at Normandy on D-Day. "What the heck is going on...?"

Moving from rock to rock, Danny moved closer, trying to get a better look. The floating island looked like a stereotypical desert island, something akin to what Robinson Crusoe would have found himself on. Yet, on closer inspection one might have guessed that Captain Hook had called the Brethren Court together. On the opposite side of the island was what seemed to be a port city on the edge of a natural harbor. Docked there were a few old sailing ships – including Young Blood's pirate ship.

"That answers how he got his ship fixed up a couple years back." Danny said to himself, then tapped his earpiece. The goggles he wore linked into the Specter Speeder's displays. "You guys getting this?"

"Crystal clear, Danny." Tucker answered.

"Looks like an old picture of Port Royal." Sam said as she looked at the display, focused for the moment on the port city. "Like it was before the earthquake."

"Before what earthquake?" Danny asked curiously.

"Back in the 1600's, a huge earthquake dropped half the city into the ocean. If you go there today you can dive on some of it still. My parents went there last year during summer, remember?"

"How can I forget?" Danny grinned a bit, "They seemed to call every hour to make sure you were okay."

"I hope that's not all you remember..." Sam said with a sly grin.

"Guys... I'm right here, y'know..." Tucker deadpanned, and his two friends chuckled.

"Any idea what Walker is up to?" Sam asked, changing the subject.

"I'm not quite sure..." Danny said as he refocused. "Looks like an invasion."

"Going after who?" Tucker asked, "Young Blood? Seems like an awful lot just for him."

"With how everyone keeps improving, it's hard to say. By now, Young Blood might be a competent pirate. We have no idea what all he does in the Ghost Zone." Danny reminded them, then added, "Granted, I have my doubts too. We haven't seen Young Blood in a while, but he hadn't changed the last time we saw him."

Suddenly there was what sounded like the shot of a cannon followed by screams, and Danny's eyes went wide as he looked over the beach. A crater marked it now, in the middle of a formation of guards. Half of them had been taken out by the blast; vanished. The rest had been fried by what looked like a wave of electricity. Seeing that, Danny brought out the directional microphone and pointed it toward the beach to see if he could pick up what was being said.

Out from the vegetation stepped someone dressed as a pirate captain – though the man was obviously _not_ Young Blood. He could easily stand as tall as Walker, perhaps a little taller, and had not the slightest bit of childishness about him. He was an adult, though he looked just barely old enough to drink. The long coat, tricorn, and other various pirate clothing fit him well. His hair was trimmed, and he carried himself like the commander of a vessel should be expected to. The thumb of his right hand was hooked in his coat pocket – his left hand had swept his coat back slightly, and rested on the hilt of a cutlass.

"Von Krieg!" Walker bellowed, "You're coming with us! For crimes committed since arrival, including, but not limited to-"

"Blah blah blah..." Captain Von Krieg rolled his eyes, the hand coming up from his pocket to make the 'mouth moving' motion. "I've heard it before, Walker." He smirked, looking over the assembled forces on _his_ beach. "I see you've brought more men this time." He quirked a brow, tapping his chin. "Do you really think they'll be enough?"

"You're coming with me, Punk. You and every other _soul_ involved with Project Lazarus."

"Two things, Walker." Von Krieg scowled, "First, _don't_ call me _punk_. I'm older than you." The slightest of smirks touched his lips before he continued. "Second... how do you know about Project Lazarus?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Walker smirked.

Von Krieg deadpanned. "The Observants told you, didn't they?"

Walker was silent for a moment, jaw clenched, then replied with: "It doesn't _matter_ who told me, it doesn't change that I'm taking you in!"

"Yup. It was the Observants." Von Krieg grinned, "Might wanna practice not reacting to things like that – but then, you were probably just some truant officer in life, right?"

At that, Walker snarled, having heard enough. "Don't just float there;" he began, addressing his guards. "GET HIM!" He shouted, pointing toward the ghostly pirate captain.

The ghost guards immediately formed their ranks, shields up, and began to advance toward the lone pirate. Captain Von Krieg simply smirked and inspected the nails on his right hand.

As the guards drew closer, he spoke loudly, but didn't look up. "Nikolai, if you please?"

Suddenly there was movement in the beach sand as hatches popped open and cannons raised up, fully automated ecto-beam cannons at that, and they began locking onto their targets. As they charged up, electrical energy swirled around the muzzles of the cannons. A moment later they fired, each one discharging a ball of energy that was wrapped with electrical power as it left the barrel. Just like the first shot, these wreaked havoc on the forces that were moving in on them – wiping out or disabling vast numbers of the guards.

Those that were left unhindered began to quickly regroup to try and continue their advance, but he was ready once again.

The Captain grinned. "In the immortal words of Bon Scott – _LET THERE BE ROCK_!"

At that command, the ends of the cannons reformed as speakers, and almost immediately there was what sounded like a riff on an electric guitar. From each cannon sprang a coil of purple energy that expanded as it neared the guards. When it finally hit it slammed them like a shockwave, blasting the entire contingent back. Walker blinked, looking around at what remained of his guards; his entire force in shambles within a couple minutes – or less.

"That's not _possible_! You're a pirate, not some technology wizard!" Walked said as he looked around, baffled by the ease of his defeat.

"Maybe he isn't... but I am." Came a familiar voice. Out from the vegetation stepped Technus, with what looked to be a wrist-mounted control unit for the island's defensive cannons.

"You're working with _him_?!" Walked shouted, the scowled as he figured the next bit. "And I suppose the music was provided by the McLain girl?"

As if on cue, a swirl of aqua flames appeared and vanished, leaving Ember in place, wearing the pirate outfit that she'd worn when allied with Young Blood. "Sit on it, Creep."

Technus and Ember flanking the Captain, the pirate crossed his arms and quirked his brow. Glancing to each of them, he gave a small smile. "Nice work, you two. Real class act." Then he focused on Walker again. "Now, do _I_ have to kick _your_ butt, or are you smart enough to leave?"

Walker scowled at the three of them, then looked around to his guards. "Fall back!" Then he looked toward the trio. "I'll be back. And next time, all three of you are getting cells in my prison." With that, he turned to head off with his guards, walking behind them.

The Captain looked cross, then abruptly grinned and looked to Ember. "Ember, you gorgeous, wicked thing you... mind playing him out?"

Ember grinned wickedly and adjusted the nob on her guitar. "Love to..." And with one powerful strum, her guitar's fist-shaped attack was let fly, blasting Walker off the island along with his other guards. The trio watched them go, and then each took their various teleportation methods back to city on the other side of the island – Captain Von Krieg's being what looked like a lightning bolt.

After the show was over, Danny raced back to the Specter Speeder. "I just saw what I think I saw, right?"

"You mean Walker's goons getting creamed?" Tucker asked, and Danny nodded blankly, "Yeah, you saw that, alright. We even have a recording if you think you missed something."

"Ember, Technus, Young Blood, and this new guy? All working together? This can't be good." Danny said, running a hand through his hair.

"What I'm working is what that 'Project Lazarus' is... or was..." Sam trailed for a moment, "If the Observants brought Walker in over it, I'm willing to bet it's not good."

"I wonder why they didn't take it to Clockwork." Danny said, "They seem to bug him when they want something done. Especially if they want someone stopped."

"Maybe he told them where to get off." Tucker shrugged, "I mean let's face it, he can control time – I have the feeling he has better things to do than their dirty work."

Danny and Sam nodded. Then Sam's watch began to beep.

"Alright, guys – it's ten o'clock. We should probably head back. Maybe we can get some research in before we crash for the night." She said as she looked to the other two. A moment later, the three of them were headed back toward the Fenton Portal; each of them wondering who the new ghost was, and why he had picked the allies that he had.


	2. The New VP

The weekend over, Danny and company returned to school the next morning, only to discover that they were to be ushered into an impromptu morning assembly. The gossip they heard along the way seemed to indicate that Mr. Lancer had retired over the weekend – something that seemed to make Dash nervous, and most of the student body relieved. Despite Lancer not having been their favorite person, he really hadn't been that bad; even so, they were glad that their disciplinarian was gone.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were somewhat relieved as well, but also found themselves curious as to who would be replacing him. After all, 'the devil you know', and all that. What if the new guy was worse? Thankfully, there was a standing order about interfering with Danny's superhero activities (so long as he didn't abuse said standing order). Even so, with all that had happened in the past, he wouldn't be all that surprised if it was some scheme by an old enemy to get at him. Heck, they hadn't seen Vlad since the 'disasteroid' incident two years ago. What if he was back under a fake name and took Lancer's place?

As if on cue, when the three of them sat down, Danny's Ghost Sense went off and he immediately began to look around. Sam and Tucker both noticed and did likewise – though not one of the trio saw anyone out of the ordinary. No ghosts. No Vlad. No villains of any kind. Just an auditorium full of curious students. Slightly annoyed, but seeing no immediate danger, the three relaxed and waited. The wait wasn't long, as soon enough the Principal walked out onto the stage and stood at the podium.

"Students of Casper High," She began, her voice echoing around the room slightly. With funding that Tucker had approved, many of the aging school's facilities had been brought up to code and even upgraded. The auditorium was one such space. A microphone wasn't even needed if one was on the stage. So long as you spoke loud enough, the sound carried evenly all the way to the back. "I welcome you back. Sadly, we have lost one of our long-time staff members, Mr. Lancer. However, his shoes are being filled by a man that is quite capable, I assure you." She looked offstage. "Mr. Falkenrath, would you please come to the podium?"

As the Principal stepped back from the podium, a young man that looked no older than mid-twenties stepped out from stage-right and strode to the podium. "Thank you ma'am." He said, and though he was looking toward the principal, his voice carried softly through the auditorium. As he turned to looked to the crowd, his features could be seen easily. Black hair and hazel eyes, he stood tall, his shoulders were broad, but he smiled easily and warmly as he looked out to the student body. At about six-feet, two-inches, he wore a tailored suit, two tone shoes, and in one hand he held a black fedora.

"Good morning students!" He said as he set the fedora on the podium. "My name is Bastian Falkenrath, and I'm going to be your new Vice Principal, as well as a teacher here at Casper High. I will openly admit that this is my first time as a Vice Principal, but I have plenty of experience as a teacher. I've taught in New York City, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, and I believe that this experience shall serve me well here. To avoid throwing off your morning any further, I shall leave you with this: _Carpe Diem_. The first student in each class of mine to tell me what that means will receive ten extra credit points."

"That's not even hard..." Sam said softly as she looked toward the stage, while Mr. Falkenrath stepped back and handed things back to the principal.

"What's it mean?" Tucker asked.

Sam smirked. "Oh no, I'm not telling you."

"How about me?" Danny asked with a small grin.

"Nope. If you two want to know what it means, do some research."

"Can you at least tell us what the language is?" Tucker asked.

"And how to spell it?" Danny added.

Sam sighed. "Fine... I can do that at least – but you just remember that I actually _knew_ what it meant."

==X==X==X==

Fifteen minutes later, the ghost battling trio was in Home Room, waiting for their teacher to arrive, and wondering where exactly they were at. Finally, in through the door came the very man that the student body had been introduced to earlier. Like most teachers that were running late on their first day, he was trying to move quickly while also keeping things organized in his mind. Setting things out on his desk, Mr. Falkenrath looked through a couple piles of papers, took a deep breath, and then looked to his class.

"Good morning, class." He smiled that same warm smile he'd had on the stage, and then slipped off his coat, hanging it on the back of his chair. He paused though when he could have sworn he heard a cricket. Not a single reply had been uttered. Another look to the class, and he frowned slightly. Most looked disinterested. The rest looked annoyed. "Gee, swell welcoming committee, kids. Really know how to make the new guy feel great about being here." He said sarcastically.

That got a couple of guilty looks from the disinterested ones, and the annoyed ones looked away. At the very least it was a sign that they had some kind of soul. He paused for a little longer, then sat and began to busy himself with the papers in front of him. Some were forms he still had to fill out for the school. Others were the various syllabuses that he had prepared for the classes he was to teach. Toward the back of the room he heard some whispering, but thought nothing of it.

"_Danny_..." Sam whispered pointedly, "...you should go say hi to him."

"What? _Me_? Why?" Danny asked with a baffled look. "He's just a teacher."

"And the Vice Principal." Tucker added, and Danny rolled his eyes. "Seriously, man. Nobody else is going to make the poor guy feel welcome."

Danny sighed. "Alright, fine – but you two are coming with me."

At that, Tucker and Sam shared a brief look, then shrugged slightly, and the three of them stood. Moving to the front, they stood patiently, quietly in front of Mr. Falkenrath's desk until he glanced up at them.

"Yes...?" He asked curiously.

"I... uh..." Danny began slowly, trying to gather his thoughts. "Mr. Falkenrath, my name is Danny. Danny Fenton, and these two are my girlfriend, Sam Manson, and the Mayor of Amity Park, Tucker Foley, and we wanted to welcome you to Casper High." When he was finished talking, he offered his hand to shake over the desk.

Mr. Falkenrath looked up from the papers and blinked a bit, looking at the three of them. Then he grinned and stood. "A pleasure to meet you, Danny, Sam; Tucker." He said as he took and shook Danny's hand, then nodded toward Sam and Tucker. "I'm glad to see at least three of my students can make me feel welcome. I'm also glad to meet the town's heroes." He chuckled, "Or should I say the world's saviors? You three did good work. A real bang-up job of things. I'm proud to be able to claim you as my students. From what I hear, Mr. Lancer felt the same way."

"He did?" The three chorused.

Mr. Falkenrath nodded. "He did. I take it he never told you, he wasn't the type to say such things I suppose – that or he was saving it for your graduation in a couple years. Either way, he was very proud to have been your teacher." He chuckled slightly, "You're a regular Peter Parker, Danny."

"Nah..." Danny waved the compliment off, "I'm no web-slinger." And of course, at that moment, his ghost sense went off again and he looked around.

Mr. Falkenrath had noticed the wisp as well. "You were saying?"

And then from out in the hall: "Beware!"

The trio facepalmed and chorused: "It's the Box Ghost."

Mr. Falkenrath grinned. "Well, what're ya waitin' for, hero?" He thumbed toward the door. "Get on it."

Danny blinked. "You don't mind?"

"Standing order, kid: thou shalt not interfere with the supernatural safety of the town. AKA: If Danny Phantom needs to kick some butt, he gets to kick said butt and then come back to class." Falkenrath grinned, "Besides, from the rumors I've heard, the Box Ghost takes all of what... a minute or two to whoop up on?"

"Just about." Sam grinned.

"Depends on if he's having a slow day or not." Tucker added with a shrug.

Then from the hallway again: "Now with this box of cleaning supplies, I shall..."

Falkenrath grinned. "War-paint kid."

"Right." Danny nodded, and in an instant he transformed.

"Do me a favor?"

"What is it, Mr. Falkenrath?"

"Kick his butt _outside_?" Falkenrath pointed over toward the windows.

"Done, and done." Danny grinned, then shot off, turning intangible and shooting off through the wall. A moment later, outside, Danny was seen pummeling the Box Ghost. After about a minute and half, Box Ghost was sucked into the Fenton Thermos.

As soon as he was back inside the classroom – having phased through the wall – Danny changed back to his civilian form. Mr. Falkenrath gave a polite clap of congratulations, and while a few of the students had watched the fight, none had been all that excited. They'd seen Danny whoop up on the Box Ghost so many times in the last two years that it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for them. Tucker, however, was looking at him curiously.

"Y'know, I've always meant to ask you..." Tucker said as he looked Danny over, noting that the thermos was nowhere to be seen, "When the Fenton Thermos vanishes, where does it go? So many times you've used it and then it vanished right after. Does it teleport back to the lab or something?"

Danny blinked, confused, and then chuckled. "Oh! I guess I never mentioned it." He grinned a little, "Sub-space pocket. It's small and can't hold much, but I access it every time I go ghost. That's where my uniform is stored all the time. I toss the thermos and other little stuff in there too now and then."

The question answered, the bell rang and the students began to grab their things and file out of the classroom. Danny, Sam, and Tucker began to gather their things as well. The next class was History, and after they had their books, they made their way to the class – only to find that, lo and behold, the teacher was Mr. Falkenrath. Later that day it would be the same for Math and Science as well. In some sense, just like Mr. Lancer before him, Mr. Falkenrath wore numerous hats around the school.

Unlike Mr. Lancer, however, he didn't do the things that caused the students to turn their backs on him. The prime example happened at lunch, when he'd caught Dash giving one of the nerds a hard time. He'd gotten a week's worth of detention – after school, _during_ football practice. Falkenrath had also made it known to Dash that if he ever caught him, or even heard of him, doing it again, he'd increase the punishment next time. Lancer might have shown favoritism, but Falkenrath wasn't about to.

In Danny's humble opinion, it was a nice change of pace, and far overdue.


	3. Errand Boy

Axion Labs, a former subsidiary of VladCo, was back to its independent research projects – many of which were capable of improving the world. This was the same story for many of the companies that Vlad Masters had once played lord over. After he showed his true colors as Vlad Plasmius, and then fled from the Earth to escape being hunted down and ripped apart _molecule by molecule_, VladCo was split back into its original companies by the US Government. Many of which were either returned to their original owners, or were allowed to be taken by their individual board of directors.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean that any of these companies were any safer than they had been. Axion, for instance, still had its same old weakness – for the most part. Alarms screamed around the installation, emergency lights twirling in every hall and room to let security know that something was amiss. Jack and Maddie Fenton had tried, in vain, to convince Axion Labs that they needed a Ghost Shield – and now it was paying the price. However, they had a decent enough reason not to bother with the Ghost Shield: Valerie Gray's father had convinced the company to hire his super-suited daughter.

As the alarms screamed late in the night, Valerie was looking over the security cameras, going through the live footage to see where the problem was. Finally, in one of the lower labs, she spotted a familiar form. Skulker. A scowl immediately came to her normally pretty face, and in an instant her new suit sprang from its confines and surrounded her; her board forming beneath her. Over the last couple of years, now that she was working directly for Axion, she'd gotten a few upgrades. One of the most useful being an intangibility module that was part of her suit; similar to the ones used by the Guys in White.

Going intangible, she kicked in the thrusters on her board and shot down to the lower lab, coming in behind Skulker. Returning to a tangible state, she hovered there, looking at him with her arms crossed, a smirk on her lips. "Looking for something, _ghost_?"

"Looking?" Skulker said, not bothering to turn around. "No. I've found what I came for. But I could do with another _trophy_!"

As he span around, both forearms popped open and ecto-chainguns slid out as he extended both arms toward her. I an instant, they were whirling and firing off hundred of beams a second. Thankfully, the addition of a small personal ghost shield – something akin to an upgraded Specter Deflector – helped lessen the bows. Yet, hundreds of blows every second could still take their toll. Worse, as she backed away and put her board between herself and the blasts, the board itself chewed apart. The personal shield didn't include the board.

Turning intangible, she aimed the board skyward and used its last bit of energy to go up two levels before its thrusters died. Turning tangible, she tried to control the board as it went for the floor, but suddenly found herself flying off it as it stopped abruptly. Landing a few feet away, she rolled over just as a small rocket exploded where she had been. Looking back, she did so just in time to see Skulker break her board over his knee and toss the halves to either side. Smirking at her, his finished the two halves off with the ecto-chainguns.

"You're not getting away this time girl. Your pelt will look splendid in front of a fireplace." He grinned wickedly, the rocket launchers on his shoulders primed and ready. "Or maybe your head over it – or both!" He laughed.

"Not a chance, Metal Head!" The all-too familiar voice seemed to come from all sides at once, and Skulker's eyes went wide as he looked all around him – but still saw nothing. "Looking for me?" The question came, and at that very moment Danny appeared right in front of Skulker, unleashing a powerful ecto-blast at point blank range against his chest.

Danny didn't pause, however. No, he pressed the attack and flew at top speed, grabbing one of Skulker's arms and hauling him around, slamming him into the floor. Keeping a grip on the arm, he charged one of his feet up with energy and then slammed it down on the mechanical ecto-suit's elbow; breaking the arm off at the joint. Slipping his own hand up inside the mechanical arm, he wore it like a glove and balled a fist, the whirling barrels of the ecto-chaingun coming to life. Then he aimed at Skulker's other arm and blew off his other chaingun.

Coming out of his brief daze, Skulker scowled up at Danny, then smirked as the rocket launchers over his shoulders locked on target and fired. Four missiles streaked out from the two launchers, and Danny barely got a shield up before they hit. The blast threw him backward, into Valerie, and both of them rolled to their respective sides just in time to see Skulker's wings open and the jets kick in. As soon as they did, he went intangible, and was gone.

"Thanks for the help, Danny." Valerie said as they stood up, dusting themselves off.

"No problem. Just wish he hadn't gotten away." Danny said as he looked to the spot where Skulker had been only a moment ago. "Any idea why he was here?"

"Probably to steal something. Don't know what yet – I didn't have time to check what was in the lab I found him in." She shrugged slightly, "And don't beat yourself up over it. He probably would be skinning me right now if you hadn't shown up. I'm glad you started doing those regular patrols."

"If Axion had listened to my parents, I probably wouldn't be." He shrugged slightly, "But I wouldn't have to, either."

"Believe me, I wish they had." Valerie scowled slightly as her suit receded. "A place like this not having its own Ghost Shield is stupid, but I don't have the authority to put one on Axion's tab." She shook her head then and held out a hand. "Care to take be down to the lab so I can find out what he took?"

Danny smiled and took he hand. "Sure. How far?"

"Two levels, straight down." Valerie answered, and soon enough they'd dove down to the lab that Skulker had been in. A display was empty, and Valerie moved to the terminal in front of it, bringing up the lab computer's information on what should have been there. "Looks like it was an Ecto-Reactor."

"A what?" Danny asked, blinking.

"An Ecto-Reactor. According to this it's kind of like a nuclear reactor. It feeds off a ghost's energy at an even amount and converts the ghost's energy into electricity. If you put more than one ghost inside it, it becomes more efficient. There doesn't seem to be any limit to the number of ghosts you can put into it, either. The only difficulty is getting ghosts inside it in the first place."

"How does it work?" Danny asked curiously, "I mean, what does it do to the ghosts to keep them inside? Is it like the Fenton Thermos, or... what?"

Valerie read further, and then winced slightly. "Sounds like something your dad would design." When she looked over and saw that stare that Danny was giving her, she spoke in a monotone: "It rips them apart, _molecule by molecule_. Then it keeps them in that state so they can't reform, thereby preventing them from utilizing their abilities to escape."

"Remind me never to get too close to that thing." Danny gulped a bit at the thought of what it would do to him.

"No problem." Valerie smiled, then glanced away in thought. "Any idea what Skulker would want with it? I mean, I remember his island. It's basically a game preserve. Why would he take it?"

"Probably to give to someone else."

"Who? And what ghosts would they use as a power source?"

"Those questions are the ones I don't have answers to. The only person I know he used to work for was Vlad, but with Plasmius gone, I have no idea who he'd be working for now."

==X==X==X==

Hours later, in the Ghost Zone, Skulker had delivered the Ecto-Reactor to his employer, as well as stopped off at his island for a couple of quick repairs to his armor. Those errands done, he was now out on another – this one taking him, not to the human world, but to Clockwork's Keep. He'd made his way inside quietly enough, moving without causing a fuss. The last thing that he wanted was to earn the Time Ghost's ire. Yet, he knew he was working toward that regardless by trespassing here. He had already explored numerous rooms, and was not finding what he was looking for.

"Where did he _put_ it?" Skulker grumbled to himself. "It must be here, _somewhere_."

"Can I help you, Skulker?" Came the voice of Clockwork from behind him – but before he could turn around a scythe was against his neck, "Perhaps a little _off the top_?"

Skulker gulped. "Now, now, I wasn't here to cause trouble, Clockwork... I..."

"I _know_ why you're here." Clockwork said, and the scythe was moved away from Skulker's throat. "What I want to know is if you're aware of how _unwise_ that reason is."

"I was hired for a job, Clockwork." Skulker said as he turned to face the Master of Time, "And I intend to see it through. I assure you, I know what I'm doing."

Clockwork looked Skulker up and down, taking his measure. "Yes, I suppose you do believe that, don't you?" He nodded slightly, shifting form from one age bracket to the next. "We shall see how right you are in the coming days."

And with that, Clockwork moved aside, revealing a pedestal behind him, upon which sat a banged-up Fenton Thermos. Stepping up to it, Skulker looked it over, seeing the dents that were in it. Yet, the deformities were not caused by impact from outside the thermos. Instead, they had been caused from impacts within it. One even looked like a face. "So he's really inside here, is he?"

"Yes, he is. I suggest you take great care with that thermos, Skulker. Use it wisely."

Skulker looked at the thermos for another moment, thinking about the possibilities. He had always said that he was the greatest hunter in the universe, but he had also heard of how powerful the ghost contained within the thermos was. On par with Pariah Dark, at the very least, and possibly beyond him without the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire. And he was just the combination of two ghosts that he himself had dealt with numerous times. Could he truly be so powerful as was rumored? Skulker wanted so badly to doubt it was possible, but he also knew that Clockwork would not take things so seriously if it was not so.

Another moment of consideration, just one more, and then he reached forward and plucked the thermos from the pedestal – glancing around slightly as if expecting a giant boulder to come rolling at him. Instead, he jumped a bit when he heard a voice come from inside the thermos.

"Clockwork! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Skulker smirked. "You are no longer Clockwork's prisoner, Phantom." He held it up to eye level. "For the moment, you are _mine_."

The thermos was silent for a moment, and then the voice was almost curious. "_Skulker_?"

"Indeed."

"Where are you taking me, you mechanical moron?"

Skulker scowled, then grinned. "To my new employer – where you should prove to be most... _empowering_." He chuckled darkly. "One might even say that your future will be _electrifying_."

"Evil puns... Great." Dan paused, "I'm not going to enjoy this, am I?"

Skulker smiled. "No. I'm quite sure agony will be involved. At the very least, I hope it is."


	4. Spectral Recon

Tuesday morning, during Home Room, Danny, Sam, and Tucker were gathered in one corner of the room discussing recent events amongst themselves while Mr. Falkenrath used the time to help students with Math and Science. He would have helped with History as well, but nobody had questions about that at the moment. It was another of the things that Danny liked about him – he was actually helpful to his students whenever he could be. Undoubtedly, Danny himself would try and get some help with those subjects in the future, but right now there were bigger fish to fry, so to speak.

"So he gets in, grabs the Ecto-Reactor, fights Val, then you, and beats it before he can lose?" Tucker asked, summing up what Danny had just explained about the attack. "Not very often he passes up an opportunity to try and skin you, dude. That reactor must have been pretty important to him."

"The question is why..." Sam said as she leaned back in her seat and crossed one leg over the other. "Like you said, it's probably for someone else, but who?"

"I wish I knew – whoever it's for, I doubt they have the best intentions." Danny scowled slightly, "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough who wanted it, though."

"Strange that anyone in the Ghost Zone would want it though, don't you think?" Tucker pointed out. "It runs off ghosts. Who in the Ghost Zone would A) want that kind of device, B) have a use for it, and C) have enough ghosts to power it? The average ghost isn't really that powerful. You'd have to stuff it full to get any real use out of it. The effort it would take to put the stronger ones inside wouldn't be worth it."

"Unless they already had a source of captive ghosts that they wouldn't mind harming..." Sam said as something dawned on her. "Tucker, I think I know of a ghost that fits the bill."

Danny glanced at her with a little grin. "Walker?"

Sam blinked, "How'd you know?"

Danny grinned. "I came to the same conclusion as soon as you mentioned a 'source of captive ghosts'." He frowned then, arms crossed. "Only problem is that I don't see Walker and Skulker working together; not after Walker tossing Skulker in the clink."

"That was over two years ago, though. If Walker is offering a high enough payout, Skulker might decide to forget the past and let there be bygones so long as Walker keeps his end of the deal." Tucker replied. "He does seem to need help catching that pirate ghost we saw on Sunday night."

"No kidding." Sam smirked, "That huge force of guards got their butts kicked in under five minutes." She paused, then added. "Of course, the Captain had help. Ember _and_ Technus – plus Young Blood must have been docked at the island, considering his ship was there. Three allies is a lot for the Ghost Zone. Even when you and your dad went on that fishing trip, it was only Spectra, Ember, and Kitty working together in the attack here. I can't remember seeing an alliance of more than three until now."

"So we gonna call it, then?" Danny asked.

Sam nodded. "Walker."

Tucker did the same. "Walker. Only suspect we have at the moment."

Danny glanced toward the window. "Walker it is, then. I think tonight, instead of going on patrol, I'll head into the Ghost Zone and do a little recon; see if Walker is up to anything more than normal."

"Want us to come with?" Tucker asked.

"Nah, you two stay on this side of the portal. I'll just be in and out, regardless of whether or not I find anything. If he is up to something, we can come up with a plan. Until we know for sure, I don't want to let him know we might be on to him."

"Danny?" Sam said as she looked at him, "Be careful, alright?"

"Always am."

==X==X==X==

Later that night, Danny slipped into the Ghost Zone and made for Walker's Prison with all haste. It didn't take long to reach it, but once he was there he began to sneak around. Remaining invisible, he went into the depths of the prison, checking every possible place he could think that the Ecto-Reactor might be put, and finding nothing. Not a single thing. The last place to look, eventually, became Walker's office. He was dreading going there, but he had to check it.

Slipping inside, he was surprised at the sight that greeted his eyes. There sat Walker behind his desk, with two of the Observants in the room with him – apparently chewing him out for his failure at the pirate ghosts' stronghold.

"We put our faith in you, Walker, and you _failed_ us! How do you explain this display of such _vast_ incompetence?" The first demanded.

"He is one ghost! How hard can it possibly be to subdue him?" The second added. "You have a small army at your disposal. Pandora's sakes, he was only a pirate! Just another criminal for you to bring in!"

"He has help." Walker said simply, hands clasped with his chin resting on them, and elbows resting on the desk. "Technus, and that McLain punk, too. Young Blood's ship has also been seen coming and going from the island's port. Care to tell me why you failed to mention that when you came to me with the job?" By the end of it, Walker was beginning to sound vastly irritated with the two before him. "Why don't you just put Clockwork on the job like you normally do?"

"Because Clockwork is not reliable." The first explained, carefully avoiding the subject of why Walker hadn't been told of the pirate's allies. The truth was that they hadn't thought it would matter that much – and they didn't want to admit that they'd been wrong.

"We already went to him, as a matter of fact." The second added. "He refused to do as we asked of him – the same that we asked of you. It _is_ well within his ability. It would be incredibly simple for him. Yet, he does not believe that it is something that _he_ should be handling."

"In other words," Walker began with a smirk, "the old man doesn't feel the need to meddle in their affairs, so you came to me, figuring I'd be willing to capture your target because he's a criminal."

The two Observants looked to one another, and then said in unison: "Precisely."

Walker shook his head. "You're lucky I would go after him anyway, or I wouldn't be doing this for you." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, putting his hands together to steeple his fingers as he looked at the Observants. "We do have a problem, however. His island's defenses are too strong for me to overcome with a reasonable number of guards. You've obviously seen what he did the last time I went there; how quickly and soundly my guards were defeated? You can't possibly expect me to be able to take him prisoner when he has such strong defenses. Not without help."

The Observants looked to one another once more, and then the first moved forward. "That is why we brought you this." He said, and then reached into his robes. When his hand came out, it held within it the Skeleton Key. "This should allow you access to Avarice Island, and to Captain Von Krieg. Use your imagination, Walker – and get it _done_."

Seeing that, Danny left the room and made his way out of the prison. The Ecto-Reactor was nowhere in sight, and from how Walker was dealing with things, it seemed unlikely that he had it anyway. Once out of the prison, Danny hovered, remaining invisible while he thought. Who else might have it? Who else might have use for it? He shook his head after a moment or two of thinking. Most of the enemies that came to mind didn't quite work.

Vlad was out of the picture. Walker had been checked. Skulker wasn't likely to keep it. Pariah Dark was locked away. Freakshow was in the custody of the Guys in White. The Fright Knight had no use for it, and anyone that did have a use for it had no fuel that was readily at their disposal. Then something struck him like a lightning bolt. Something Walker had said. He had mentioned the ghost pirate's island defenses; how strong they were. Technus and Ember together, they'd have to use a lot of power to keep those defenses operational – and Young Blood & Ember's old alliance had been to power his ship.

That in mind, he turned to head toward Avarice Island, as the Observant had called it, but stopped. He had told Sam and Tucker that he would be in and out. He was only going to check the prison. Except... he hadn't said that _exactly_. He'd said he'd be in and out. He'd said he wouldn't be fighting Walker. He said he'd check the prison. However, he _hadn't_ said that the prison would be the _only_ place that he checked.

_'Ah, loopholes...'_ He thought, and then shot off toward Avarice Island at top speed – thankful he'd become so masterful over his powers that he could remain invisible for so long. It was one of the most useful powers he had, right along with flight and intangibility. When he first got his powers, he hadn't really thought of them as being so important, but with time he had learned how very important they were, and had begun to practice at them and push the amount of time that he could use them for. He'd learned that his powers were like a muscle; the more they were used, the more stamina they built.

As he neared the island, he skirted along the edges of it, making his way around to the port. When he reached it, his eyes widened slightly at the sight. It was a vision right out of _Pirates of the Caribbean_. Sailing vessels of every shape and size filled the harbor. Most were obviously combat vessels – their guns proudly on display. Others, however, were merchant vessels or pleasure craft that had been re-purposed as smuggling vessels. He discovered that by taking a quick peek into some of their holds. It was no small wonder that Walker had it out for this pirate ghost. Talk about contraband!

Everything from plasma screen TV's and computers, to car parts and weapons could be found in the holds of the ships. What's more, Danny gleaned this from only taking a quick look with his intangibility. He could only imagine what an actual inventory of the ships would bring. Yet, that wasn't what he was here for. He was here to check if they had the Ecto-Reactor, and considering all the loot they had, he was almost sure that they had a use for it. The question was whether or not they had a source of fuel for it. Yeah, there were plenty of ghosts on this island... but would the captain use them as fuel?

Danny didn't know. He hadn't met the guy face to face, and he hadn't seen him interact with his crew – only with his allies. That didn't tell him a whole lot. Moving into the town, he began to search. The warehouses that were near the docks were clear. The homes he decided not to bother with for now, so he skipped over them. As he neared the center of town, he began to come upon the brothels and taverns one would expect to find in a pirate town. He was able to ignore most of them, but one of the larger taverns caught his attention – for he could hear a very familiar guitar screaming inside.

Yet, unlike how it normally sounded, it didn't sound... _angry_, at least not right now. Curious, he drew closer, and found that he couldn't see inside very well, as the ghosts inside were blocking the view through the windows. Slipping inside, he remained invisible, but the sight before him was one he hadn't seen up close in some time. There on the stage was Ember and her band, all done up in pirate styled clothing. Unlike how they played at Casper High and in Amity Park, they didn't sound malevolent. They actually sounded like they were having fun.

Also unlike her claim of never having singing partners, the entire crowd seemed to join in on the chorus and for other little things.

"_Do what you want, 'cause a pirate is free-_

_You are a pirate_!"

Ember kicked the song off with that simple line, and then everyone – from her band members to the crowd – joined in with the chorus, much to Danny's surprise.

_Yar-har, fiddle-dee-dee_

_Being a pirate is alright with me_

_Do what you want, 'cause a pirate is free_

_You are a pirate!_

_Yo-ho, ahoy, and avast_

_Being a pirate is really badass_

_Hang the black flag at the end of the mast_

_You are a pirate!_

"_You are a pirate..._"

_Yay!_

The song itself lasted only about a minute and half by the time that it was over, but Danny was still shocked by it. Not only was it strange to see Ember having fun like this, but the song wasn't much in the way of needing a lead vocalist. Most of it actually ended up being chimed in on by the crowd. The strangest part – at least to him – was the fact that Ember didn't even seem to _mind_ that they were singing with her. She seemed to be enjoying it as much as the crowd was.

So distracted was he that he hadn't noticed his invisibility coming to an end around the same time that the song did. However, he'd moved so close to the stage that it was hard for anyone else in the tavern _not_ to notice. Yet, nobody made a move against him – not right now, anyway. Of course, they did move some. Mostly they blocked the exits and shifted position behind him. Danny didn't realize something was off until Ember began to play again, and she looked right at him while she started the song – as if to say that this one was for him, specifically.

"_It's three years to the very day,_

_Since the pirate captain said to me:_

_Here lad, come join our crew-_

_Adventure and glory waits for you!_

_I took his words as gold,_

_Set sail for quests untold_

_With a bottle of rum, I my hand_

_I dreamed of wealth in foreign lands..._

_(hey!) You're banjaxed,_

_(hey!) You're screwed,_

_And death is coming for you-_

_Trapped on an island,_

_Lost at sea-_

_Shipwrecked; you'll cease to be!_

_(hey!) You're banjaxed,_

_(hey!) You're screwed,_

_And death is coming for you-_

_Trapped on an island,_

_Lost at sea-_

_Shipwrecked; your destiny_!"

((Author's Note: Okay people, I'm not exactly musically talented myself, and I'm definitely not a song writer, so yes, I'm going to be taking some real world songs and attributing them to Ember since A) I doubt most of the real-world bands exist in the Danny Phantom universe, B) They didn't give Ember many songs in the series (basically two really), and C) I think these songs fit her style and setting. I'll make sure to leave a note at the end so you will know what the songs are and who they're really by if you want to check them out – and imagine Ember singing them. So, for this chapter the songs are...

You Are A Pirate (by) Alestorm

Shipwrecked (also by) Alestorm

That's all for now, swabbies.))


	5. Banjaxed

"_(hey!) You're banjaxed,_

_(hey!) You're screwed,_

_And death is coming for you-_

_Trapped on an island,_

_Lost at sea-_

_Shipwrecked; your destiny_!"

As Ember sang and the crowd began to join in on the chorus, Danny could feel the crowd getting closer – much too close for his liking. The wicked gleam in Ember's eyes didn't help matters. Looking around, he realized all too late that the exits were blocked. Not knowing what was planned for him, but assuming that it wasn't good, he decided that it was time to leave and took to the air. Or... that had been the plan. About the time that he was one body length off the ground, someone in the crowd grabbed him, pulled him back, and slammed him onto the ground.

As he looked up in a daze, he could see that it wouldn't have mattered if he'd flown up further. Ghosts throughout the room had formed a shield over the ceiling. Even if he'd gotten up there, he would've just slammed into it. Before the haze in his head cleared, he was hauled to his feet again, vaguely aware that the music was still going, the same song playing as the pirates bullied him about. Pushing and shoving him around, from one to the next, even a few punches and a kick here and there to move him around. Finally, near the end of the song, he was thrown up on the stage in front of Ember.

With a wicked grin, she used a kick to spin him around, and switched her guitar knob over to the 'punch' icon. With the last power cord in the song, she hit him point blank with it and sent him flying across the tavern, onto to bar, and sliding across it through half finished drinks and other things that lined along the bar. For a little over two minutes he'd been wailed on, and now at the end of the bar he felt something sharp press against his throat. Slowly his eyes opened and he lifted his head as he saw that what was against his neck was the tip of a cutlass blade.

His eyes following up along the blade to the arm that held it and then up the arm to the face of the ghost who wielded the deadly instrument. When they reached that face he gulped. The ghost that held the cutlass to his throat was none other than the captain that he had seen two days prior when Walker was so soundly defeated.

"Danny Phantom... we meet at last..." The Captain grinned, slowly moving the sword away from his throat. Then he looked to the bartender, "Get this boy a drink."

"Aye, sir – but... what should I get him?" The bartender replied.

Taking in the look of haze that was still on Danny's battered features, the Captain thought for a moment, then looked to the bartender as he sheathed the cutlass. "A little of that wake-up juice of yours should get him right as rain, Doc'."

"Comin' up, Cap'n." The bartender replied, and set to making the special drink. A minute later, a tall shot glass was set on the bar not far from Danny, and the Captain picked it up.

"Okay, kid..." The Captain said, taking Danny's chin in his free had and tilting his head back. "This ain't gonna hurt ya, but you aren't gonna like it. Even so, you need to drink it all. Get me?"

The grunt that came from Danny was taken to be an affirmative, and the Captain tilted his head back, pressed the shot glass to his lips, and began to pour it down his throat. About half way through the glass, Danny's eyes shot open, awake and alert, and he flailed a little bit – though the Captain forced him to continue drinking it. Once it was gone, the Captain release him, and Danny flailed more – gasping for air and pointing toward his mouth. Calmly, the bartender placed a glass of milk on the bar, and in an instant Danny grabbed it up and downed it.

Smacking the glass back down onto the bar, Danny rolled onto his back, laying on it, and asked of nobody in-particular. "What the heck was _in_ that? My mouth is still smoldering..."

The Captain chuckled. "Go on and tell 'im, Doc'."

The Bartender grinned. "Two parts bourbon whiskey, one part Tabasco sauce, one half-part caramelized sugar, one half-part ecto-espresso, and the juice from a lemon wedge – all shaken with ice, and then strained into the glass. Now..." He added, putting an orange in Danny's hand. "Eat that, and it should take care of what's left of the burning sensation."

Sitting up, Danny looked at the orange in his hand and slid off the bar, onto one of the bar stools. Then he looked around and noticed that most of the crowd had gone back to doing whatever they were doing. The music had changed too. Ember's band was gone; replaced by an old time string and flute band playing a lighter, more Caribbean-styled bit of music. He glanced around a bit, looking to see if the familiar ghost was around, but he didn't see her for the moment. Thus, he looked back to his orange and used his ghost ray to peel it cleanly.

"So," The Captain said as he sat down at the bar, removing his tricorn and revealing the blonde mane of hair upon his head, "mind telling me why you tried to sneak in here?"

Danny didn't reply right away, using the orange as an excuse as he bit into it and began to chew. The reality was that he was trying to think of something to tell him. Should he tell him the truth? What if he did and he had the Ecto-Reactor? What then? Should he lie, and risk the Captain knowing it? Neither option sounded good to him, so he decided to go with a third.

"I'll decide whether or not I should tell you once I know if I'm a prisoner or not." Danny said after he had swallowed, turning on the bar stool to face Captain Von Krieg.

"No, Danny, you're not a prisoner. I think Ember and the boys were just having some fun at your expense – maybe to teach you a lesson about spying on people?" The last bit was posed as a question, but the young hero could tell that it was more a given reason for what had happened – and an explanation for why he was still _technically_ among the living.

"Lesson learned." Danny said with a nod, then looked the pirate captain over. "Just who are you, anyway?" He asked, hoping to divert the conversation.

"Oh no you don't, Danny. I answered your question. Now you answer mine." The Captain smirked, "Then I'll tell you who I am – but not before."

Danny sighed and thought for a moment. Truth, or lie? What should he do? It was a difficult decision – and it wasn't helped at all by the fact that he felt someone standing behind. No, correction, they weren't just standing there; they were leaning against him with their hands on the top of his head. The fact that he could feel the chest of a female pressed against his upper back and the weight of someone else' head on top of those hands made him freeze.

"I suggest you just answer truthfully, _dipstick_." Came Ember's voice from above his head, and he could feel the words as she spoke them. "And in case you're wondering, no, I can't read your mind – but you wouldn't be pausing for so long if you weren't thinking about doing otherwise."

Blowing out a breath, Danny knew he's been caught – but having her so close as also unnerving. He'd never had another ghost, much less a female one, so close before – not counting when Kitty was overshadowing Paulina. It was strange, but exciting at the same time. Knowing there was a girl being like this around him excited him. He was male – he couldn't help that. But knowing also that she was one of his longest running enemies also put a damper on any of those teenage hormones. The fact that he currently had a girlfriend was the knockout blow.

"Mind getting off my head?" Danny asked with a scowl, taking a bite of the orange and chewing slowly. It took a moment, and a look from the Captain, but eventually she relented.

"Fine." Ember snapped, sitting down on the other side of him. "See if I act friendly again..." She mumbled something more, something regarding him being an 'uptight' something-or-other, but Danny couldn't hear her. She looked away from him then, ordering a Vesper Martini from the barkeep.

Danny looked at her curiously for a moment, then looked back to the Captain. "Alright, I'll tell you. I was here to see if you had a recently stolen Ecto-Reactor. Heard of it?"

The Captain blinked at that. "Can't say that I have. Sorry kid." His eyes narrowed as he looked at the wooden bar. "Hell, I don't even know what an Ecto-Reactor is." He looked at Danny then. "And if you don't believe me, feel free to have a look around the island." He grinned a bit. "Wish you had just come and talked to me in the first place, rather than sneaking around. We could have avoided the unpleasantness."

"Same here." Danny leaned on the bar, head in the palm of one hand. "But if you don't have it... and Walker doesn't have it... who does?"

"Walker?" Ember asked, looking to the hero again. "What's the Creep got to do with it?"

"Uh..." Danny shrugged, "Nothing, I guess. He was my first suspect after how badly he was trounced a couple days ago, but I went all through his prison – nothing there. You all were my second set of suspects because of how much power this island must need, but... well, obviously that fell through." He did, of course, intend to take a look around the island just in case – but with how the Captain had reacted, he doubted that it was there. "So... now I'm back to square one."

Captain Von Krieg looked at the downtrodden young hero and thought for a moment. Finally, he spoke with a bit of a grin. "You know, that might not be a bad thing." When Danny gave him a look, he explained. "What I mean is that you know your initial suspects aren't the ne'er-do-wells you're looking for. That means you need to look for more suspects."

Danny scoffed. "Any suggestions, Errol Flynn?"

As Danny continued to eat his orange, the Captain thought, stroking his chin slowly. "What exactly is an Ecto-Reactor? Obviously it generates power of some kind. I'm guessing electrical, since I doubt you'd chase down something stolen from a ghost other than Frostbite, Clockwork, or Pandora – which means the device is probably human in origin. That said, every generator needs fuel, and since it's called an Ecto-Reactor, it's fuel must be..." He trailed off, staring at Danny for a moment. "You've _got_ to be kidding me..."

Danny winced, tossing the orange peel into a trash bin after he swallowed the last piece. "No, unfortunately, you're right."

"Ghosts as a fuel source?" Captain Von Krieg questioned, shaking his head. "Ingenious, I'll say that, but... cruel, as well. No doubt there." He paused then, "Have you thought, maybe, about the Fright Knight?"

"The Fright Knight? Why would he want it?" Danny questioned.

"Duh, Dipstick..." Ember said, knocking on the side of his head like a door. "Why do you think? Pariah Dark is his master. The Ghost King might not be tech-savvy, but the Fright Knight has been free for a while now. He might have learned a few things in the last couple years – and if his master knew anything, it was the importance of power."

"Not to mention," The Captain added, "that Pariah has an entire army of ghosts he can summon if he gets let out of his coffin. Sacrificing a legion of them to that machine wouldn't even phase him."

"Ain't that the truth?" The new voice came from behind Danny and to the left, and as Danny turned, he saw a younger teen ghost. "Hey Danny!" The boy said happily, "Haven't seen you in a while. How ya been?"

Danny blinked as he looked at the boy. He seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place him. "Do I... know you?"

The boy pouted. "You don't remember me?" Then he looked as if he'd thought of something, "Oh! I get it – you don't recognize me now, right?"

"I guess... You look familiar, but I can't place where I've seen you..."

"Danny, it's me... Young Blood."

Danny stared – the ghost kid in front of him had to be at least twelve, probably thirteen. "But Young Blood is... well... a _kid_... you're..."

"I got stronger." Young Blood shrugged, "That, and... well... being a kid forever is great... but it gets old too, especially when nobody takes you seriously. That, and being short for all eternity really blows."

Ember smirked a little, "You're still short."

Young Blood glared at her. "I'm taller than I _was_, at least." Which was actually true. Rather than being the size of a young child, he was at least up to Danny's chin now.

Ember smiled then. "I'm only messing with you." Then she looked at Danny and gave a half-lazy scowl. "So are you going to beat it, or what? I can never finish a show with you around."

Danny grinned. "Like me that much, huh?"

Ember glared. "No, you just end up ruining the performance with some kind of stupid heroics."

Captain Von Krieg rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to her." He grinned. "You're welcome here any time. Just don't cause any trouble, and don't sneak around, alright?"

Danny smiled at that. "I think I can manage that – and thanks for the idea about the Fright Knight." He stood from the bar then and nodded to Young Blood. "Good seeing you." When Young Blood grinned and nodded back, he looked to Ember, finding himself not sure what to say to the ghostly Queen of Rock. So he simply gave a little nod of recognition. "Ember."

"Dipstick." She scowled in return, and then watched him as he moved away, through the crowd, and to the door. When he took flight, she sighed, shook her head, and downed the rest of her martini. Then she herself headed back toward the stage.

Young Blood and Captain Von Krieg watched them both and then looked to one another. "Clueless..."

Young Blood grinned then. "Technus sent me to tell you that the equipment is ready."

"Excellent." The Captain grinned, then looked off to the side. "Cannonfire, Grapeshot!"

The two pirate ghosts came over, standing at attention. "Sir?"

"Get a couple communicators from the Quartermaster, and go follow that Fenton kid. Stay out of sight, and check in every four hours. I want round-the-clock reports. Understood?"

"Yes Sir!" The two ghosts chorused, and then they were gone.

Young Blood looked to Captain Von Krieg curiously. "Ya think he knows what's going on?"

"Not sure." The Captain replied, "But I want to know _everything_ that he _does_ know."

(AN: Okay, just like I said on the last chapter, this is for the song.

Shipwrecked (by) Alestorm

So yeah, one of the same songs as last time, but I used it again, so... yeah.)


	6. Captured King

As soon as Danny left the Sunk'n Norwegian – the tavern that he had gotten banged up in – he flew at top speed away, turned invisible, and doubled back. A quick search of the island's storage facilities, ships, and important-looking locations revealed that Captain Von Krieg had been telling the truth; or at the very least had the Ecto-Reactor hidden somewhere that he couldn't readily find it. That in mind, he returned to his visible form. He hadn't fully recharged his invisibility yet, and with it now essentially offline until he let the power recharge, he'd have to pull his last bit of investigation without it.

He was kind of dreading what he was going to be doing. The Fright Knight had been awake ever since Pariah Dark was set loose and locked up. Nobody had ever stuck that stupid sword of his back into a pumpkin. How had they not thought to do that yet? Granted, the Fright Knight didn't tend to cause problems on his own. He seemed mostly content to stay in the Ghost Zone and let the others cause trouble. The only reason he'd ever come to the human world was to retrieve his sword when Danny himself had stolen it, and then later at the orders of Pariah Dark.

Thinking about that, Danny wondered why the Fright Knight hadn't done anything on his own. With the fearsome reputation that he had, and the power that he wielded, why not try his own hand at world domination? Was he simply not interested in doing so? Was he more of a follower than a leader? Did he not have the power that he would need to do so? All good questions, and none of which did he really have a good answer for. He didn't know the Fright Knight very well; they hadn't exactly started out on the best of terms, considering he'd stolen from the ghost. It hadn't left a good impression.

Of course, how the Fright Knight had reacted was also a bit overdone. Threatening to take over the world and such and rule in terror – yet even now that he was free, he had yet to try it. It was strange, but then again, maybe he just didn't feel like it. It was hard to say. But alas, he had no time to think further on it all. The castle lay ahead. Picking up speed, he moved to the castle's spires and slipped in through an upper window, making his way down quietly using his intangibility. He headed for the throne room first. When he got there, however, his eyes went wide in shock.

Lo' and behold, the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep was standing _open_. Yet, there was no army of ghosts. He didn't even see the Fright Knight – and certainly no Pariah Dark. He glanced around, and then moved up to the coffin, looking at it as if he were looking at his own headstone. Was the Ghost King free? The last time he'd only been able to beat him with the use of the battle suit that his parents and Vlad had built. His powers had to be ramped up one hundred fold to defeat Pariah Dark – and then he hadn't really beaten him in the fight; he'd simply managed to shove him into the coffin again.

The truth was that had it not been for Vlad helping him at the last moment, Pariah probably would have escaped, trounced him, and went on to conquer the world... or at least make an attempt. It was strange to think that his arch enemy had been, in some way, his savior. He didn't focus on the past though. Something was off, and he wasn't sure what – all he knew was that Pariah Dark was gone. But where? And why? And who in the heck had let him out? What idiot would let out the King of all Ghosts, who everyone knew had the intention of conquering both the Ghost Zone _and_ the human world?

"It's YOU!" The shout came from behind him, and it had been so quiet until then that Danny span around. He'd recognized the voice, but seeing the Spirit of Halloween only served to make it worse. "Insufferable whelp! I should have known you would come to see how well your minion performed..." The Fright Knight glared, and fired the ghost rays from his eyes. Still shocked at the Fright Knight's sudden appearance, Danny had barely begun to move when the beams hit him, slammed him backward into the coffin, and sent it toppling with him landing in it.

Sitting up, Danny tried to move again, but the Fright Knight was on him in an instant. Grabbing him by the throat, the knight hoisted him into the air. "How you convinced the hunter to come here at your bidding, I cannot fathom, but I WILL have my Soul Shredder returned to me, AT ONCE!" At that, he threw Danny into one of the castle walls.

The impact dazed him, but on instinct he forced himself up and intangible at the same time. Taking flight, he moved away from the Fright Knight and then returned to his tangible state as he faced his adversary. "I don't have your stupid sword!"

"A likely story..." The Fright Knight said with crossed arms, looking up to the teen hero. "And I suppose you expect me to believe that you don't have the Ring of Rage or Crown of Fire either, hm?"

Danny stared at him, then blinked. "Actually... yeah, that's also true."

The Fright Knight lifted one invisible brow. "How much of a fool do you take me for?"

"Well... considering I'm not using any of these things that you seem to think that I have... and yet you're still blaming me for it..." Danny said pointedly, arms crossed as he lowered himself to the floor. "Maybe a bit more of a fool than I used to take you for." He smirked a little, then furrowed his brows. "Wait a minute... are you saying that all three of those things are gone... and so is the Ghost King?"

The Fright Knight paused at that. "Skulker really _wasn't_ working for you, _was_ he?"

"Skulker? Working for me?" Now Danny quirked a brow, "What would even make you think that would be possible? Skulker thinks of me as 'prey' – he only says it every time he sees me. What, have you been under a rock the last two years?"

"I'll have you know that I've been guarding King Pariah's sarcophagus, to prevent anymore... _mishaps_." The ghostly knight explained. "I was charged with the duty by the Observants..." He grumbled a bit, "And Clockwork saw fit to ensure I got the message."

Danny couldn't help but grin at that, then forced himself back to business. "So what happened? How did Skulker get past _you_? I know you're a lot more powerful than he is."

The knight looked away at that. "He stalked me while I was making my rounds, and ambushed me. He used some sort of device to short out my powers, and then came here. I'm not sure how he opened the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, but as soon as it was open he used a thermos, like the ones you use on other ghosts, to capture King Pariah before he could react. He also stole away with my sword, the ring, and crown. He fled quickly after that, as the King was attempting to escape his new confinement."

Danny thought for a moment, then looked toward the knight. "I have no idea who he's working for, but I might know what he used on you. How long ago did he use that device on you? And when did your powers return?"

The Fright Knight thought for a moment. "About six hours ago – and they came back as soon as you arrived. Why?"

"I think he used one of Vlad Plasmius' old gadgets. The 'Plasmius Maximus' he called it. It short-circuits a half-ghost's powers for three hours. I'm guessing it has a stronger effect on a full-ghost, and that's why it affected you for so long." Danny looked to the side for a moment, "I don't know how he would have gotten his hands on it though, unless Vlad gave him one back when Skulker was working for him, or..." He tensed a bit, "...or unless Vlad is back."

"Has Plasmius not been gone since his failure to deal with the asteroid?"

"He has, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have returned."

"True – and he seemed keen to have the Ring and Crown in his possession." The Fright Knight agreed, then was quiet for a moment before turning and stepping away. "I must report to the Observants what has happened. Clockwork will already know, but they have a more narrow vision than he does." He paused by the entrance to the corridor that led away from the throne room. "In the mean time, I suggest you leave. If you are here upon my return, I may have frustrations to work out. Fair warning, ghost child." And with that, he summoned his steed, Nightmare, and was off.

"No problem..." Danny conceded as the Fright Knight made his way away from the castle. "I'd rather not stick around here anyway." He winced a bit, "I told Sam and Tucker that I'd be in and out... so much for that." And so much for any clues as to what was going on. The Ecto-Reactor was still missing, Skulker was playing hardball for whoever his new (or perhaps old) employer was, and now Pariah Dark, the Ghost King himself, was being held captive for _some_ reason.

Shaking his head, Danny took flight and headed for the Fenton Portal. This little trek had gone on for longer than he had intended, and it was time to head home, hit the sack, and sleep off the events of the night. He also had to look forward to hearing it from Sam and Tucker tomorrow about how much he had done without any backup. They would be right, of course, but he still didn't want to have to go through getting the earful he was now destined to receive from them. But, that's what happened when he pulled these stunts. He probably should have been used to it – or better, learned from it, by now.

As he neared the portal, a nagging feeling came to the back of his mind, and the gears suddenly turned. The Ecto-Reactor ran, basically, on ghosts... Skulker had stolen the reactor. He had also been the one to capture Pariah and take him off somewhere – somehow having both a Plasmius Maximus _and_ a Fenton Thermos, or at least something like one. He doubted that the jobs were unrelated. Which meant... possibly... that someone was intending to use Pariah Dark to fuel the reactor. All in all, not a bad thing, as it would be more secure than the sarcophagus had been.

The problem lay in who might be using the reactor itself.

And if it was Vlad, he needed to find out sooner rather than later.


	7. Answers Become Questions

Wednesday and Thursday had come and gone with little incident. He'd gotten chewed out, as expected, by his friends. The Lunch Lady Ghost had attacked on Wednesday, and the Box Ghost had attacked Thursday. Both had been easily dealt with after over two years of having to fight them off. Mr. Falkenrath had a test in Math, which Danny had actually managed to pull out a B on – and that pretty much summed up the highlights of the two days. It was finally lunch time on Friday, and Tucker had mentioned that morning that the research had finally paid off... at least somewhat.

Research on Project Lazarus had finally yielded results, but not from the sources that Tucker and his staff had initially hoped. As it so happened, they'd only been able to find a vague reference to it in some blacked out old OSS file that the CIA had hidden away. The only thing they'd really gotten was a file number – and as it was one of the few exceptions to the Freedom of Information Act, they couldn't touch it. What surprised Tucker was who they _did_ get information from: The Guys In White. The GIW didn't _want_ to help, of course, but a presidential order had been given that forced them to.

Their files were connected to the CIA files, considering it was a subject that crossed over to both branches of federal service. The CIA had the original files tucked safely away at their headquarters in Langley, on the Eastern Seaboard. The GIW had digital copies and physical backups in case something wiped their files. They'd sent Tucker a set of each; the digital being downloaded onto his PDA, and the physical being brought to school in a manila envelope. Sitting out of the way at lunch, Danny, Sam, and Tucker were discussing what Tucker had found.

Handing Danny the manila envelope, Tucker began to explain things as Danny took the pages out and read them.

"From what records there are, it looks like Project Lazarus was a military R&D project. Project Lazarus is its title when translated into English – the project was actually German in origin... back in the later half of World War Two." At this Tucker paused, letting it sink in that they had somehow stumbled onto a Nazi experiment. "Apparently the project was being worked on in unison by three different groups: the _Wehrmacht_, as the German Army was called at the time, _Obwher Ost_, German Intelligence, and the _Waffen SS_ – the Elite Guard and Militarized Police of the Nazis.

"Overall, the objective was to breach into what we now call the Ghost Zone. Back then they didn't know what it was, only that it was a dimension that bordered our own and appeared to link to it naturally in some areas. They each had their own reasons for trying, though. The _Wehrmacht_ intended to use the Ghost Zone as a kind of shortcut, like a wormhole, so they could send soldiers and equipment anywhere on the planet – even to the heart of the United States or the Soviet Union. _Obwher Ost_ wanted to use it to move their spies around; similar idea as the _Wehrmacht_, really, but on a smaller scale. The _Waffen SS_ had a different idea, though. They wanted to claim the Ghost Zone for Hitler.

Obviously, none of this ever came to pass, since we aren't speaking German and the Ghost Zone doesn't have swastikas draped everywhere. Nobody in the OSS – what became the CIA – or any other intelligence service took the idea seriously, but they did note the massive troop buildup around the installation where the portal was supposed to be built... so it was bombed by the Eighth Air Force on 14 February, 1945, during a daylight raid. The entire complex was leveled. After the war, an American division was ordered to the area and the bunker complex was excavated.

When they reached the lower levels, they found an enormous machine hooked up to a massive number of power generators. The machine, however, was heavily damaged and the power generators were trashed." At that, he pointed to a couple of photographs – one of the wrecked power generators, and the other one of what looked to be a super-sized version of Vlad's ghost portal; one wide enough that vehicles the size of tanks could have rolled through it two-by-two with troops marching on either side - and planes could probably have been flown through it.

It was then that something dawned on Danny. "Wait a minute... this means that my parents weren't the first ones to create an artificial portal to the Ghost Zone?" He frowned slightly, "I can't let them hear about this... it would crush them. They think that was a huge discovery."

Tucker grinned a bit. "Actually, Danny, there's no reason to assume that the portal the Nazis made ever worked at all. Like I said before, we're not speaking German, right?"

"Just one problem with that Tucker..." Sam trailed a bit, glancing at Danny and then to him, "...if it didn't work, why would the Observants be after those that were connected to the project? It can't be just the fact that they tried; after all, Danny's parents have a fully functioning portal, and the Observants have never come after them for any reason."

"She has a point, Tuck." Danny said softly, spreading out other images on the table so that they were easier to view. "This machine must have worked at least once."

Tucker shrugged slightly, "Maybe, but it was scrapped for material after they found it. It and the generators were too damaged to function, and all the blueprints were gone. They should have been stored in the base's command post, but it was destroyed during the bombing raid."

Danny nodded, then thought for a moment as he looked at the images. So many of them made him think of the way the Fenton Portal had looked after he had gotten rid of his powers, it was eerie. One of the snapshots even showed an American GI standing next to the remains of a German Panzer that had been parked in front of the portal's huge ramp before the bombing raid and gotten stuck when debris had piled up around it. The tank was about twice as tall as the soldier, and the portal was nearly five times as tall as the tank. It could easily have allowed a division to move through it in about an hour.

"So the Nazis tried to build a massive ghost portal for their military to use, not knowing what they were really building a portal _too_. Now the Observants want to somehow track down and capture everyone involved with the project, and _somehow_ Captain Von Krieg is involved... though I don't see how." Danny shook his head, "What does a pirate have to do with Nazis?"

"I don't know what he has to do with the Third Reich, but I _do_ know who he is..." Sam grinned, pulling out one of the larger books she seemed to be able to find from her sources. This one, however, was not as spooky looking as most that she got her hands on. Instead, it was decorated in such a way that it was obviously about pirates. The illustration on the leather-bound cover was of two sailing ships - one sporting a black flag with a golden hour glass above crossed lightning bolts, the other a Union Jack - locked in battle. Across the top it read: _True Caribbean Pirates: Forgotten Tales of The Spanish Main_.

Opening the book to a bookmarked page, Danny and Tucker saw a full-page illustration which showed a sleek sailing vessel with all sails open and its cannons run out, slicing through the water. From the top of the mainmast the very same black flag as on the cover flew. Winged hour glass above crossed lightning bolts. The name on the bow read clearly: _HMS Immortal_. Letting the two boys gawk at the ship for a moment, Sam waited, and then began to tell of what she had learned as she flipped through a few pages.

"Captain Blitz _Freiherr_ Von Krieg, master and commander of the _HMS Immortal_, was a pirate captain in the early seventeenth century. No record which can be confirmed exists as to his true origins, but if the man himself could be believed, he was born in 1589 in a small fishing village in northern Prussia – part of modern day Germany. At the age of eleven his family immigrated to London. At sixteen, he joined the crew of a Royal Navy vessel – the _HMS Immortal_. Her mission was to deliver a military payroll to one of the early colonies in the Caribbean, but on the way Von Krieg led a mutiny.

Other sources amongst the crew were recorded at various times as reporting that Von Krieg did not intend to stage a mutiny. Instead, the captain – a cruel man by the standards of most crewmen aboard – pushed the sixteen year old Blitz too far, and Blitz drew his sword. While they quarreled, the rest of the crew seized the opportunity and overthrew the ship's officers and small contingent of marines. When it was over, the crew elected Blitz captain, much to his own surprise. They hadn't believed that he would make for an experienced captain, but were proved wrong early on when he had then steer toward France.

Using the payroll to buy a French Letter of Marque, as well as to refit the _Immortal_, he then set course for the Orient, around Africa, to avoid the Royal Navy patrols that would likely be looking for him in the Atlantic. Five years later, with three ships bursting with treasure, he sailed into Trinidad harbor. Over the course of the next fifty years he built himself, through lead, blood, and gold, into the King of All Pirates. Recognized by pirates the world over as their leader, they paid tribute to him. Nobody knows when he finally died, but apparently his leadership role became hereditary.

Up until 1850, there were records of at least one Captain Von Krieg being mentioned by pirates and others in the Caribbean and around the world. Few of these records still exist, but one tale remains – discovered by a translator in China who discovered the log of a Captain Chien Nguyen. It detailed how he and three other pirate captains sent every bit of treasure that they had collected aboard a few well-armed vessel to the Caribbean, at the orders of a Von Krieg. They never saw their ships, crewmen, or treasure again; nor did they ever again hear from their leader.

Captain Nguyen theorized that the last Von Krieg must have hidden the treasure somewhere, and makes mention of other Captains from around the world mentioning to him that they believed he did the same with their treasure – indicating that the Pirate King in the mid-1800s likely sent this same order to most, if not all, of his subordinates. Supposedly this order was followed in early 1850. After that, the name Von Krieg disappears from pirate lore.

Only one other piece of evidence exists, and that is the report of an American warship that sighted a large fleet of vessels traveling northward, just over the horizon from the shores of the Eastern Seaboard. Only one vessel flew colors – the flagship out front, a large frigate – and the colors matched those known to be used personally by the Von Krieg family. This happened in early spring of 1850. The same vessel was sighted off the coast of Virginia in late fall of 1850, and a few days later a vessel matching its description mysteriously exploded and sank, lost with all hands, off the coast of Georgia. The rest of the fleet, however, was never seen again."

A few more pages were flipped through, showing illustrations of some of the things that Sam described, and Danny was already thinking. Of course, he had no way of connecting the ghost pirate, the Nazis, and the stolen Ecto-Reactor – though he had the feeling that they were, in fact, connected. Somehow. But how? It still made no sense. Though he was getting an idea... perhaps Mr. Falkenrath would know something that could help shed some light on things. Obviously, the man wouldn't know much – if anything – about the Ghost Zone... but he seemed to know tons of things about history.

If anyone he knew could connect a Pirate King and the Nazis, two elements separated by almost three centuries, it was him.

That in mind, he decided he would be going to see Mr. Falkenrath during his office hours after school.


	8. Histories & Direction

The office of Vice Principal Falkenrath – as the title on the door said – was not the pristine, orderly, spotless refuge of an overworked and underpaid school staffer. In fact, it was messy, disorganized, cluttered, and packed full of things that seemed like they should either have been in a museum or on the wall of a wealthy man. In fact, if he hadn't known better, he would have thought that it was an office of Vlad's – just a lot less OCD in its organization. Most of the stuff also had some sort of nautical connection; artifacts that could easily have come from a shipwreck.

Combined with the fact that the sound system in the corner of the office had been blasting _Lead or Gold_ by the band Running Wild, a pirate themed rock band from the eighties, it painted a pretty good picture of the man in Danny's mind. Of course, the music was older than Mr. Falkenrath was, which meant that he had older tastes in things – also obvious by the way he dressed, with a nearly 30's style. Hell, he looked like a more upper-class version of how Indiana Jones dressed while he was teaching.

A glance over the 'ego wall' that most authority figures at schools had, and Danny found himself surprised that there was actually only a few things there. One of them, however, was proof that he was indeed a college professor. High school teacher, vice principal, _and_ a college professor? How many hats did this guy wear? Another glance, off to the other side, also showed that he had something of a history. On a display rack at the back of the office was a sheathed saber and a United States Marine Corps flag. A Marine too? Anything else?

"I do hope you can excuse the mess, Danny." Mr. Falkenrath said as he stepped back into the room – having stepped out for a just a moment to tell his secretary to turn away anyone that might come looking for him; he was in a meeting effective as of... _now_. "There's so much stuff I wanted to display, I suppose I overdid it. I'll have to weed things out over the next week or two until this office is presentable." He chuckled, "Go figure, an adult, and I still have to clean my room."

Danny smiled at that. "Hey, if you think this is bad, you should see my room. It can a whole lot worse."

"Now that just about sounds like a challenge, hero." Mr. Falkenrath grinned, then tilted his head slightly, "But I highly doubt that's why you're here. What's up?"

"Well..." Danny said, trying to think over exactly how to say what he wanted to say. Finally, he decided that the simplest way would be the best. "I need your help figuring something out."

"Oh? What?" Falkenrath asked curiously, "Math? Science? Girls – if it's that one, I don't know how much help I'll be."

Danny chuckled, shaking his head. "No, no, not girls – thankfully. But if I ever need the advice, I'll let you know." He took a breath, then looked Mr. Falkenrath in the eye. "I need to know anything you know about how Captain Blitz Von Krieg might be connected to the Third Reich."

"Von Krieg... haven't heard that name in a while." Falkenrath said as he leaned back in his chair. "Much less any talk of connection to the Reich. What brings this on? We're only up to the War of 1812 in class."

Danny had been afraid of this. Glancing around, as if checking for anyone that might be listening, he leaned forward and lowered his voice. "It's a _good-versus-evil_ kinda thing, understand?"

Falkenrath quirked a brow, but nodded a bit, leaning forward himself. "I don't think we need to whisper. My office isn't bugged, Danny."

At that, the teen hero blinked, winced a bit, and sat upright – his voice going back to regular volume. "Okay, I guess you're right, but you do understand, don't you?"

"I think so, but at the same time, you haven't given me much to work with. What makes you think that they're connected at all? The original Von Krieg probably died some time around 1670. The last Pirate King with that surname was last seen in 1850. The Nazis didn't even rise to power for another eight-three years. Four-score and three years is too long for the last to have even survived to see the first of Hitler's flunkies. People just didn't live long enough back then."

Danny nodded. "I've been thinking about that myself. It's kind of why I came to you."

"That doesn't answer why you have the suspicion though."

Danny hung his head for a moment, then looked up. "There's a Von Krieg in the Ghost Zone, a pirate to be sure, his lair looks like Port Royal back in the pirate days. Before the earthquake, according to Sam." He blew out a breath, and then went on to explain most of the problem. The Observants, and the information that Tucker had dug up on Project Lazarus. By the time that he was done, Falkenrath was leaned back in his chair with a hand in his hair, taking it all in.

"Danny-boy, I tell you what..." He sat up then, his jacket nearly slipping off the back of his chair, "...if my wife were alive to hear that, she'd be racing around to connect the pieces." He grinned sadly, "You've got yourself one hell of a puzzle." The Vice Principal glanced to an overstuffed bookshelf to the side of the room, stood, and moved toward it. "And I think I just might have a connection. Very few people took it seriously for most of history, but if these... Observants... have him pinned to Project Lazarus, it's the only way that I can imagine it being true. It also rewrites a lot of history."

Stepping up to the bookcase, he perused it for a moment before selecting a hard-back book, not very thick or tall, but somewhat Gothic looking from the illustrations on the covers. The title was _Vampires & Other Supernatural Entities In History_. Opening it, he flipped through a few pages quickly, then walked over to Danny and held it out for him to take with one hand – holding it open on a specific entry. Danny's eyes went wide as he looked upon the illustration. It was as if someone had taken a photo of Captain Von Krieg, the painting was so detailed.

"This work, among others," Falkenrath began as Danny took the book, "claims that Captain Von Krieg was a vampire, and that all the actions of the Pirate 'Kings' were actually acts of the one man. A single Pirate King that reined over the world's pirates for nearly two and a half centuries. It also claims that the explosion that destroyed his vessel, the _Cobra_, off the coast of Georgia was no accident. In this account he was simply done with being a pirate, and decided to hide away all his vast riches. Unfortunately it also says he probably hid those riches somewhere around Baffin Island."

Danny glanced up at the irritation he heard in Mr. Falkenrath's voice. "What's wrong with that?"

"The time table." Falkenrath answered simply, moving back to his chair. "The American warship that spotted his fleet saw him in early spring. He wasn't spotted off Virginia until late fall. That's a good eight to nine months. The voyage up to Baffin Island and back wouldn't have taken more than one. Some say that he was hiding out for the rest of the time. I don't buy it though. He wasn't really the type to hide out if he wanted to get something done – and considering that he blew his ship up as soon as he got back makes me believe he was rushing it the whole time."

"Then where do you think he stashed all his loot?"

"An island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean." Falkenrath grinned. "Late spring through early fall, the ice pack would melt in the north, and a sea route extending from Baffin Bay all the way over to the Bering Straight would open up. I think he took his fleet up, around the top of North America, down into the Pacific, offloaded his plunder, and at some point after that killed his crew. Blew up the _Cobra_ when he got back so that there wouldn't be anyone but him that knew where the treasure was."

"Sounds kind of like Captain Flint."

"Yeah..." Falkenrath agreed, "...with fangs, a lot more treasure, and no Long John Silver." He shook his head slightly then to get back on track. "Anyway, point is, if he was really connected to Project Lazarus as the Observants accuse him of being, that's the only way I can think of it being true. That, or he was already a ghost and was helping them – though I can't think of why any ghost would help the Nazis. Von Krieg was Prussian-born, that much is true, but there's nothing to suggest he had the mindset of the Nazis. A pirate he may have been, but he wasn't interested in global domination so far as I can tell."

Danny nodded. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem." Falkenrath replied, then glanced toward a painting on the wall. "Wish she was still around. She would have loved to help on something like this."

Following the Vice Principal's eyes to the portrait, he saw that it was of a beautiful woman with long chocolate-colored hair and sea-green eyes. It looked well aged, as if it had been painted long ago – nearly a museum piece, like much else in the office. "Who is she?"

"She was my wife..." Falkenrath said softly, his hand touching the ring that hung around his neck on a gold chain, right along with a carved shark tooth with a skull and crossbones on it.

"Your wife? But the painting..."

Falkenrath waved a hand, "She liked the style and wanted it done _just_ so."

Danny nodded at that, looking to the painting again. "She was beautiful." He said softly, glancing back to Mr. Falkenrath. "I... when did she...?"

Falkenrath smiled a bit sadly, shaking his head slightly. "Let's put it this way... I joined the Marines on 12 September of 2001."

"Oh... I'm sorry..."

Falkenrath shook his head. "Don't be. She's in a better place now – and I got all the revenge that I could while I was over there. My company is still getting it for me, even right now." He shrugged a bit, then went quiet, and the silence hung there until he spoke again. "Revenge is a funny thing, Danny-boy." He tilted his head back, looking toward the painting of his wife. "You think it'll make you feel better, and at first it does... but after a while you just feel numb. Know what I mean?"

Danny nodded slowly, "Actually... yeah, I kind of do." He said, looking toward the painting as well. "Back when I was fourteen... not long after I'd gotten my powers, I fought a ghost you might have heard of. Her name was Ember McLain – a rocker chick. She ended up using a love spell on me that made me fall for Sam. Back then we were just best friends." He shook his head. "Sam broke the the spell by kissing Dash in front of me. I felt like my heart had been ripped out... and I took it out on Ember as revenge... but afterward... when it was over, I was glad I'd won, but I didn't feel better. I just felt... numb, like you said."

Falkenrath looked to Danny then with a soft smile. "How are the two of you now?"

"Me and Sam?"

"Yeah."

"Well..." Danny sighed, "I don't know, really. I mean, I love her, I care about her, but... the last few months it almost feels like we're just friends again. I don't know why, but it seems like after last summer we just slowly started going back to how we were before being a couple."

Falkenrath sat up a little. "Danny, I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds with what I'm about to ask, but... have you and Sam been... _intimate_? Like say... last summer, maybe?"

"Uh..." Danny blushed a bit, glancing away, "No comment?"

Falkenrath chuckled, "This isn't for the record, Danny. I'm asking..." He mulled over the wording, and then just went with it. "I'm asking this as a friend."

Danny was surprised a bit by that, then nodded. "Yeah... last summer... was the first time for both of us."

Falkenrath nodded. "Well, then I know why your relationship has receded into little more than a friendship. When a couple does that, it goes beyond where they've been until then. It's something of a test. Obviously you didn't fail, and neither did she, considering that you're friends still... but... let's put it this way: you both only got a C on it."

Danny blinked. "Meaning...?"

"Meaning... you've probably stayed together mostly because of the platonic love you had before becoming a couple. You love each other... but it's not the kind of love that you thought it was." Falkenrath paused, "Now, know this: I'm not trying to split you two up. But I feel I'd be doing a disservice to you both if I didn't put this out there. Let me ask you something... since last summer, has the relationship felt like a burden at all?"

"Well..." Danny hung his head a bit, running his hand back through his hair. "...kind of..."

"In what way?"

"I feel like she's always looking over my shoulder..." Danny started, "And... she's bossier than I thought... she lectures me more than she used to about the hero stuff... worries about me all the time... a lot of things, I guess. Nothing that's really bad, but... it does grate on my nerves sometimes. Worse now and then than other times... It's all stuff that I knew about beforehand... it's how she's always been... but being around her all the time I've realized she's _always_ like that..."

"How long have you two been together?"

"Two years."

Falkenrath let out a low whistle, "That's a _long_ time for kids your age. Especially after being intimate. A strong bond, no doubt." _Strong, but mostly platonic..._ he added in his head.

"I've always been kinda proud of it. How long we've lasted, I mean."

"As you should be. Most couples your age don't last more than a month or two. Two _years_ is quite the accomplishment." Falkenrath smiled. "Look... maybe you two should have a talk some time soon. Get her feel for where this relationship of yours is going. Maybe she's been thinking about it too, and just hasn't known how to bring it up."

Danny nodded, standing as he did. "Thank you for the help... and the advice."

"Any time, Danny-boy." Falkenrath smiled. "Any time at all."

Danny then glanced to the book in his hands. "Do you mind if I borrow this to show Sam and Tucker?"

"Go ahead." Falkenrath nodded. "Just bring it back in one piece, alright hero?"

"Will do." Danny smiled, and out the door he went, leaving Mr. Falkenrath to himself.

Looking up to the portrait of his wife, Bastian smiled softy. "Kinda reminds me of... me... when I was that age. Don't you think?"

At that moment, the soft smile upon the painting's lips was answer enough.


	9. Dogfight

Saturday came quickly, and Danny had called Sam around mid-day and arranged for them to meet at the Nasty Burger in an hour. He, of course, was there a few minutes after getting off the phone with her – trying to think of how to break into the subject that he wanted to talk to her about. Nothing he came up with was really sounding good to him. It was all clunky and awkward, but then so was the subject itself. He was glad for the advice from Mr. Falkenrath, but it didn't make it any easier to talk to Sam. They'd been together for two full years without having to talk about this. Or even considering doing so.

By the time that Sam arrived, he had worried himself almost sick over the subject, and seeing her didn't make it any better. Worse, she seemed to notice how he looked – coupled with being surprised that he was there early; being that she herself had arrived ten minutes ahead of when he had asked her to meet him there. With a soft smile, she sat across from him and took his hand gently, a concerned look on her face.

"Sam..." He said, swallowing thickly, "...we need to talk."

That same, gentle smile stayed on her lips. "The minute I walked in here and saw you, I had a feeling you were going to say that." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "What is it, Danny? You look like you're about to be sick or something."

"You might be right." Danny said, putting his hand on his stomach, then up to his chest. He really wasn't feeling well at all, and he knew it was the anxiety.

"Danny... whatever it is... take a breath... calm down... okay?"

Danny nodded and did just as she said. A little breathing helped, and so did the feel of her holding his hand. Finally, he spoke, though he couldn't bring himself to look at her. "Sam... where do you think our relationship is going?"

"Oh thank goodness..." Sam said, letting out a sigh of relief, which caused him to look up. "I've been thinking about the same thing for a month or two now."

Danny was silent for a moment, then asked cautiously, "You... have?"

Sam nodded. "Danny... I love you, you know that, right?"

He nodded. "And I love you too..."

"I know." She smiled, then continued, "But I wonder if we know what kind of love it is."

"You mean... romantic, versus platonic?"

That surprised Sam. "Uh... yeah, actually." She quirked a brow. "Who've you been talking to?"

"I... uh... yesterday when I talked to Mr. Falkenrath, we talked about what I went there to talk about... and then ended up talking about his wife... and then about revenge... and love lives... and, well, he asked about us... and I told him... _things_..."

She smirked a little. "Lemme guess... you told him about last summer?"

"Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his head, "You're not... mad... are you?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not mad." She blushed a little, "My grandmother has known for some time now – but she's been keeping it a secret from my parents."

Danny grinned. "I always did like her."

"She's the best." Sam said with a smile, then said somberly, "And I think she probably gave me the same kind of advice that Mr. Falkenrath gave you yesterday. I just didn't know how to start this conversation. Part of me didn't want to. I didn't know how you'd react."

Danny nodded. "I had the same problem last night, but this morning I just woke up and knew hat we needed to talk... and I guess this means he was right about something else..." He trailed a little, then shook his head. "He even said you probably had been thinking this over."

Sam shrugged slightly, "At least you didn't get the advice from Lancer, right?"

Danny shuddered, "Yeah, at least there's that." He paused, and both were quiet until he spoke again. "Listen, Sam, I..."

She gently put a finger to his lips. "You asked me, remember?" After a moment he nodded, and she lowered her finger. Taking a breath, she spoke, trying to keep things coherent. "Danny... I don't want to upset you... I remember how heartbroken you were when I had to break Ember's love spell way back when... and I don't want you to feel like that again. But... I'm not sure the love we feel is really... romantic, y'know? We've been friends a long time, and we've shared secrets like crazy, had eachother's backs... but I think we rushed into romance when it wasn't really there."

After she went quiet, Danny smiled softly, bringing her hand up and kissing her knuckles gently. "I think you're right."

Sam opened her mouth to speak, then abruptly shut it, not knowing what to say at the words and gesture. The tension that had hung in the air seemed to suddenly be gone, however, and for that both teens were glad. Finally, she spoke again. "I guess this means it's over, huh?"

Danny nodded a bit, but he didn't let go of her hand. "Yeah, it is." He said softly, then gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "We're still friends though, right?"

Sam smiled happily at that. "Always. We were friends first after all – and this is mutual, not some hormonal shouting match. I'm glad that we were able to talk it out like this."

"Me too." Danny agreed, then glanced toward the front counter. "So... were you hungry? I suddenly have my appetite back..."

"Your complexion is better too." Sam laughed lightly, then nodded. "And yes, I'm starved. Let's get something to eat."

"I'll buy." Danny said as they stood.

"You don't have to do that, Danny. I mean, we're not a couple now, so... you don't have to pay for my food."

"I know – but I can still buy lunch for my friend." Danny grinned, "Besides, you can get the bill next time – when Tucker is with us."

"Yeah, I guess I can- Hey, wait a minute!" Sam punched his arm lightly, "Tucker eats like Godzilla – that is _so_ not fair!"

"I know that too!" Danny chuckled as he rushed for the counter.

"Oh no you don't – I'll get it this time. _You_ can pay for Tucker!" Sam said as she charged after him.

Just as they reached the counter, however, they heard what sounded like gunfire from outside. A moment later, ecto-beams, hundreds of them, began slicing through the roof of the Nasty Burger, blasting clean holes through the roof. A familiar feminine scream followed, and through the roof phased a face that Danny hadn't seen in about two years: Danielle. As soon as she was through, she hit a table and then the ground, sliding as more ecto-beams tore through the roof of the Nasty Burger.

Danny and Sam had dove for cover, but the moment they saw Dani, they looked to one another. Sam spoke first. "Danny, get out there and see who's doing this. I'll take care of Danielle."

"Right." Danny gave a firm nod and stood. "I'm Going Ghost!" He said, shouting his battle cry and transforming, like he had done so many times before. The white rings formed and split, leaving behind his super-powered alter ego. In an instant he turned intangible and shot up through the roof into the open air above the Nasty Burger. Turning tangible, he looked around for the enemies responsible – and found himself hearing the drone of some propeller powered aircraft. Turning and looking above himself, he had to shield his eyes from the sun as three prop-powered fighter planes dove toward him.

His eyes shot wide and he flew as fast as he could out of the way, watching as the three planes flew past in a V-formation. He had no idea what kind they were, but they looked like fighters that he'd seen in old war movies – and they were glowing that tell-tale green of ghosts. They were flying much faster than he could hope to, however, so rather than chase them he summoned his power and started firing ecto-beams after them. He aimed to the leader, center of the formation, and got a hit – but not one that served to do more than cosmetic damage to the ghostly aircraft.

The hit also served to alert them that he was a definite threat, and their formation broke. The two wingmen split off, one circling wide, the other pulling straight up. The leader, however, pulled a maneuver that his aircraft would never have been capable of in life. Not only did he stop mid-air, he span the aircraft one-eighty and aimed straight back the way he'd come – right for Danny. The twin machineguns over top of the fighter's engine barked to life, firing ecto-beams. Danny raised up a shield and felt pretty confident about it when the initial blasts struck without consequence.

That changed, however, when the large cannon that went right through the prop opened up. The first shot blasted straight through his shield, followed by the rest. The beams that followed drove him into the ground as the aircraft flew over him. Dazed, he pulled himself together quickly and saw the other two lining up on him – one at each end of the street. An idea came to him, and he rose up from the ground, forming a shield on each side as they began to fire. He waited until the larger guns opened up, and then turned intangible and dropped his shield.

The rounds passed him harmlessly and smacked into the aircraft, damaging them and making them trail dark green smoke and bright green flame, but the aircraft veered off before they had a chance to collide.

"Close enough..." Danny muttered to himself, then turned invisible and flew as quickly as he could while the three aircraft formed up again and began to hunt for him. Waiting until he was a fair distance away, he grinned and became visible again – firing ecto-beams immediately after. He missed, the fighters dodging out of the way, but now they headed right for him. Fortunately, if it could be called such, this was exactly what he was planning. The distance shrank quickly, and they opened fire, but this time he didn't stay still. He zipped from one side to the other, forcing them to continuing readjusting their aim until it was too late for them to alter course.

Once they were almost to him and he was nearly out of time, he stopped moving, and let loose his most powerful attack – the Ghostly Wail. It was only three opponents, but they were too fast and too maneuverable to fight with his regular powers in any effective means. The Ghostly Wail, however, was perfect. The broad wave of energy gave the fighters no chance to dodge, and as soon as it hit them, they might as well have slammed into a brick wall. They dropped, nearly straight down, all three in flat spins.

The two that had already taken damage from eachother had no chance to recover. Before they could even begin to level themselves out, Danny charged his ecto-beams and hit each with a double-blast from both fists; blowing them into shrapnel. The pilots that were within the planes vanished. The last fighter leveled off at the last moment and resumed the attack – but now it was damaged, and moving sluggishly. Charging the fighter, he weaved his way around the hail of ecto-beams, charging up a final attack as he did. By the time that he and the last fighter closed, the energy ball was the size of a basketball – and Danny unleashed it point-blank.

Just as the other two before it, the fighter exploded, its remains falling and then vanishing as they hit the ground, its pilot nowhere to be seen. Panting from the exertion, Danny caught his breath and then returned to the Nasty Burger, quickly finding Sam and the unconscious Danielle.

"How is she?" Danny asked as he moved to them, taking a knee beside them – Danielle half cradled on Sam's lap as the older girl stroked her hair.

"Still knocked out, but she seems okay other than that." Sam replied, shaking her head. "What the heck is going on, Danny? Who was attacking her?"

"I'm not sure who... but I have a bad feeling I know _when_ they're from." He shook his head then, slipping his arms under Danielle. "Come on, let's get back to my place. We can eat there and wait for Dani to come around."


	10. False Flag

Hours passed without incident as Danny and Sam waited for Danielle to wake up. They'd eaten and Tucker had come over after everything at City Hall was done for the day. The former couple had filled the teen mayor of Amity Park in on their split, and then on the attack that had happened immediately afterward. Tucker, to his credit, wasn't all that surprised that they had split up. For a while now he had been thinking that they would either split before high school was over, or they'd end up married right after graduation.

If he was honest with himself, there was a small part of him that was glad they'd split – it was nice not to be the only single person in the group anymore. That, and, he wouldn't have to be in the vicinity when they mentioned intimate moments, either. For the last half hour or so, their attentions had turned to other things; general conversation – at least between Tucker and Sam. Danny, on the other hand, was surfing the net, and whenever Tucker looked over he kept seeing pictures of old plans. Finally, he spoke up.

"What are you doing, dude?" Tucker asked as he stood and walked over, looking at the screen over Danny's shoulder.

"I'm trying to prove myself wrong." Danny said as he continued to scroll through pictures of aircraft. The search that he'd punched in was '_allied aircraft world war two_'. "So far, no such luck."

Sam walked over then, looking at the images. "What do you mean by 'trying to prove myself wrong'?"

"I'm hoping to find those planes from earlier with a search that identifies them as something other than what I think they were."

Tucker paused for a moment. "Why don't you just search for what you think they were?"

"Because I don't _want_ to be right, Tuck." Danny hung his head, "And I'm afraid that I am."

"Well, you seem to be finding a lot of the same images with this search. Maybe it's time to face your fears, Danny." Sam said with a slight shrug, "It can't really be that bad, can it?"

Danny sighed. "I guess..." He shook his head. "Here goes nothing..." And then he entered a different search: '_German aircraft world war two_'.

The first image made Danny wince. It was a sleek fighter plane, twin machineguns over the engine, and one large auto-cannon right through the propeller prop. Moving over the image, he clicked on it, and it took him to Wikipedia within a moment. The article was for the Messerschmidt Bf-109. Scrolling through the article, he discovered that the models he'd seen was a late-war aircraft.

"I was afraid of this." Danny said with a scowl. "I think I know what's going on, now. It's all coming together, and this is the last bit of information I need."

"Mind filling us in?" Sam asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Before Danny could speak, however, there was a groan from the bed. A second later, Dani slowly sat up. "Anyone get the number of that truck?"

"No, but we did get the plane's designation." Tucker replied as he and Danny moved closer – Tucker sitting in a chair next to the bed, and Danny sitting on the side of it.

Putting a hand on top of Dani's head, petting it a bit, and then sliding his arm around his 'cousin', he pulled her gently into a hug. "You had us scared there for a while." He leaned back a bit and looked down at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone is pounding on my head with a hammer." Dani grumbled a little and leaned into Danny. "Got anything that'll help?"

"Tuck, ya mind checking the medicine cabinet in the bathroom? If there's anything, it'll be on one of the top two shelves." Danny said, and Tucker nodded, moving to do so without hesitation. Meanwhile, Danny grabbed the water bottle off the nightstand and handed it to her.

Sam waited until after Dani had taken a long drink, and then asked. "What happened?"

"I got jumped by those spineless, bird-brained, sons of- ow ow ow..." Dani trailed off, putting a hand to her head, "They came out of nowhere. I tried to run, but they were too fast. I tried to fight them, but they were able to pull off stunts that no plane has any right to be able to do." She sighed, "I just came to Amity to visit you three. Hadn't been expecting the welcoming committee." She paused then, looking to Danny, "Tucker said something about finding out what kind of planes they were?"

Danny nodded, pointing off toward the computer screen. "German fighters from World War Two."

"Ghost planes?" Dani asked incredulously, "I've heard of ghost ships... but ghost _planes_?"

"Looks that way." Tucker said as he stepped back into the room, handing Dani a couple painkillers. "Danny knocked them down after you crash landed."

Dani knocked back the pills with a gulp of water, then nodded. "Lemme guess... Ghostly Wail?"

Danny grinned. "Was the only thing they couldn't dodge. I finished them off with some over-charged ecto-beams." He furrowed his brow then, "I was expecting them to have pilots, but they didn't – or at least they didn't seem to. I blew the planes away, and they seemed to just evaporate as soon as their pieces hit the ground. No ghostly pilots to deal with, at least not that I could see."

"So they were just ghost machines?" Danielle asked, tilting her head. "That's a new one. Usually someone has to be in control of them."

They all went quiet for a moment at that, and thought about it. She was right – they did usually need someone to control them. The lightbulb came on for all of them at the same time:

"Technus!" They all chorused.

"I should have known that he'd be involved somehow." Danny facepalmed, "Of course it's Technus – and this just confirms my idea all the more. Captain Von Krieg is behind this whole thing. The stolen Ecto-Reactor. Pariah Dark's capture. The Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire missing – he's a _Pirate King_, of course he'd take those things; the Soul Shredder too! It all makes sense. The reactor must be to power the island's defenses and the fleet of ships; that's why he's partnered with Technus, Ember, and Young Blood. It's the same plan as before – just like the last time Ember and Young Blood teamed up. They just found an easier way of doing it: getting Skulker to do the dirty work. Why didn't I see this sooner?"

"Hey man, no need to beat yourself up." Tucker said, putting a hand on Danny's shoulder. "How about we all crash here tonight? And then bright and early tomorrow we all go in the Ghost Zone, kick some ghost pirate butt, take back the Ecto-Reactor, toss Pariah Dark back in his coffin, and celebrate a job well done at the Nasty Burger for lunch?"

Sam grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me!" Then she looked to Danielle, "Think you'd be up for it?"

"Some ghostly get-back? Oh, _definitely_." Dani grinned. "I owe them for this headache."

Danny smirked. "If everyone's in agreement, then I guess that's the plan."

At that moment, Dani's stomach decided to growl loudly, and everyone looked to her.

"Uh... did I mention that I hadn't eaten for a few hours when I first got here?"

==X==X==X==

The next morning the group was getting ready for their raid on the island fortress of the pirates. The Specter Speeder was in tip-top shape, its weapons all ready for combat, and its new ghost shield in place. Tucker had already compared it to the Starship _Enterprise_ due to the beam weapons and the shielding – and he had, of course, claimed the position of Captain Kirk. He also got thumped by Sam when he made mention of the fact that it was fitting, since the residents of the Ghost Zone – particularly the female ones – were 'green' in color. Danny had just rolled his eyes and reminded him that they were more likely to try and kill him than hop in bed with him.

Once the Speeder was ready, Sam and Tucker strapped themselves in, and began a communications test. Once they were sure that everyone could hear everyone else, the final checks were begun – though Tucker had a question that he couldn't get off his mind.

"Anyone else think that we should get Valerie in on this? I mean, the more firepower the better, right?" Tucker said as he glanced around to those he was speaking to. "Now that she's our ally instead of our enemy, there's no real reason to exclude her, is there? And she is the one that's guarding Axion now... and the reactor _is_ Axion's property..."

Danny shook his head. "Personally, I think it's a good idea, but I also don't want to pull her away from Axion. She nearly lives there on the weekends. She guards it full-time Saturday and Sunday, working in shifts with her dad. If Skulker comes back looking for something else, Val needs to be there."

"Didn't she almost get killed the last time she went toe to toe with Skulker?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, but knowing Val and how connected she is to Axion now, I have no doubt that she'll have some surprises for Skulker if he shows up there again." Danny grinned, "Now, everyone ready?"

"The Specter Speeder is tip-top, Danny. We're set to go." Tucker replied, activating the start-up sequence.

Danny looked to his 'cousin'. "Ready Danielle?"

"You know it, cousin." Dani grinned, punching her fist into her palm and transforming. "Let's do this."

Danny grinned. "I hear that." He gave a nod and transformed himself, "Tucker, if you please..."

Tucker nodded, pressing the button that would open the Fenton Portal. As soon as it was open, the four moved through it, the portal closing behind them. Once on the other side, the Speeder's ghost shield was activated, and Danny and Danielle gave it a wide berth as they flew toward the location of the pirate lair. Just on the other side of the floating rocks, they stopped, and the two half-ghosts slowly crept up and over the side of a large boulder. The sight before them, however, was not what anyone had expected. The island, the _entire_ island... was gone.

"The island was here just a few days ago... how can it be gone?" Danny asked of nobody in particular, flying over the rock and toward where it had been; Danielle followed close behind while Sam and Tucker watched on the Speeder's Heads-Up Display.

"Are you sure this is where it was?" Danielle asked as she looked around.

"Tucker, these are the coordinates, right? Same place as last Sunday?" Danny asked over the Fenton Phones.

Tucker looked over the readings and nodded to himself. "Yeah, these are the same coordinates. It should be right where you're at, Danny."

"Could it be intangible? Invisible? Both maybe?" Sam asked, trying to figure out the problem.

"Maybe... I don't know." Danny shrugged.

"Uh... guys..." Danielle began, looking downward. "I think I found it." She looked at Danny and pointed down, "Take a look."

Danny looked down, and the scene before him – and before Sam and Tucker on the Speeder's HUD – was apocalyptic. The floating island lair had somehow 'sunk' – or crashed, depending on how one looked at it – into the 'ground' of the Ghost Zone; the seemingly endless cemetery that spanned the bottom. The island lay in ruins. Buildings toppled and set afire, the ships lay in pieces for the most part around the island. The only one that could be made out easily was Young Blood's vessel, smashed like it had been after his and Ember's first team up.

Only one ship seemed to still be intact, and it wasn't as large as most of the others. Even Young Blood's vessel was large by comparison. Yet, this one glowed with a dim golden light, as if the vessel itself knew that it should be somewhere else – but was still tied to the dock of the island. Looking to one another after sizing up the situation, Danny and Danielle bolted down toward the ruined island. Sam and Tucker followed in the Speeder, scanning the area. As the group searched, out from the middle of some toppled structures came the blast of a screaming guitar.

Having no warning, the entire group was slammed by it. The Speeder was fine, simply jarred a bit, but Danny and Danielle flew into piles of rubble that lined the island's streets. Both got to their feet quickly, only to see Ember standing atop a large pile of rubble, guitar in her hands, and eyes glowing a furious crimson. The pirate clothing that she wore was singed in some places and torn in others, the hat on her head having holes punched through it. Glaring daggers at the elder of the teen heroes, she slammed the chords again; the sonic blast pounding Danny harder than the guitar had ever done before.

"You insufferable... miserable... low-life... stupid... self-righteous... JERK!" Ember shouted as she slowly stepped closer, her legs nearly giving out before she caught herself and continued forward, pulling the hat off her head. "I'm going to waste you if it's the last thing I do!"

As the flame attack came, Danielle moved between the two and threw up a shield, holding back the attack until it ended. A moment later, Ember dropped to her knees, guitar nearly sliding off her shoulders as she slumped forward, the hat dropped and forgotten as she crawled slowly closer.

Danny stood, looking at her, confusion clearly written on his features. "Ember, I didn't do anything!"

"Liar!" The Ghost Rocker screamed at him, trying to flare up another fire attack with her hair – but getting nothing. "You did this! You and Walker! You were spying for him, that's why you where here the other day! That's why you brought him up!" Her body shook as she hung her head. "Young Blood... Technus... Captain Von Krieg... All of them suffered this, and ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" She struggled to her feet then, getting ready to send another blast with her guitar, but Danny was faster this time, flying up and grabbing it by the neck, yanking it from her grasp and pulling it off her.

"Ember!" He shouted as he landed a few paces away, "I promise you, I didn't do anything... I wasn't spying for Walker... I have no interest in helping him." Only, he had come to the conclusion that Von Krieg had to be the villain he was looking for, hadn't he? That he, Ember, Technus, and Young Blood were working together to hatch some scheme. From the looks of things, however, he'd been wrong. Or had he? Had Walker simply done the task that the Observants gave him? Had the badguys been beaten already, and he was late to the party? "We came here for the Ecto-Reactor. Where is it?"

"We never had it you moron! The Captain TOLD you that!" Ember answered, dropping to her knees again, an arm going across her chest to hold her other arm, "Now get out of here..." She growled out, looking away from him. "You're not welcome here anymore."

Something about that struck him. He'd actually been welcome to this place. The pirates had roughed him up, no doubt, but they hadn't really hurt him – and the Captain hadn't done more than make him drink that concoction and talk to him. He even gave him a lead – that's how he even found out that Pariah Dark had been taken captive. If he'd known, would he have really given that piece of information to him? More and more doubt about his conclusion was coming to the surface.

"Ember..." Danny said slowly as he stepped toward her, Danielle off to the side ready to fight if the need arose. "What happened here?"

Ember glared at him for a moment, and for the first time he saw something that he had never expected to see – there were tears in her eyes. "What do you care...?"

"Just... tell me..."

"It was Walker. Somehow he got his hands on the Skeleton Key. Opened a portal right in the middle of The Sunk'n Norwegian. Another in the Governor's Mansion." She shook her head, "Grabbed Captain Von Krieg and Technus... rounded up as many of the pirates as he could... then made off back to his prison. Let his guards bust the place up as much as they felt like." She choked on the next words. "I still don't know where Young Blood is."

Looking down, he slowly turned to the side, looking back toward the Speeder as he spoke into his Fenton Phones. "Guys... I... I think I was wrong..."

"So what do we do?" Danielle asked, "If the pirates aren't the badguys, then who is?"

"Good question." Danny said, then took a breath. "We need to make this right."

"Make it right? Dude, what are you talking about?" Tucker asked, "They're pirates? Pirates are badguys. That's pretty simple. Walker might be one of your enemies, but that doesn't mean that this wasn't justified."

"Yeah, Danny... Tucker is right. Besides, Walker is working for the Observants, right?" Sam added, "They're the same ghosts that go to Clockwork all the time with threats to the Ghost Zone and the Earth."

Danny scowled. "They wanted him to come after me once too, remember?" He shook his head. "No... something is wrong here. Clockwork didn't even touch this job, or they wouldn't have Walker in on it – and if Clockwork refused, then there must be a reason... and whatever that reason is, it's good enough for me to know that Walker is working for the wrong side." Turning back toward Ember, he walked up to her, took a knee, and put the guitar in her hands. "We're going to get them back – Technus _and_ Captain Von Krieg. But first, let's find Young Blood."

Ember stared at him for a moment, "So _what_, you're going to _help_ now?" She scowled.

Danny smiled softly and gave a nod. "You bet – you, however, are going to need to rest if you're going to help bust them out of Walker's Prison."

"You're crazy, Dipstick..." Ember said slowly.

Danny smirked. "You forgot the words: 'like a fox'." Then he looked back toward the rest of the group. "Everyone fan out. Try to find Young Blood, or anyone else that's left. We're going to need all the help we can get."

Tucker covered his mouthpiece as he looked to Sam. "I'm not so sure about the 'like a fox', part."

Sam only nodded her head grimly. Their friend must be losing it – but, then again, what else did they have to go on? The most obvious answer was now most obviously wrong.


	11. Ice & Mothballs

Walker's Prison was one of the few places that nearly every ghost dreaded. It was one of the few places in the entire Ghost Zone where they couldn't use their abilities, at least not without immediately being engaged by the numerous guards that were in every nook and cranny of the place. Just like any prison, they were shuffled about in cells, but unlike many prisons, there was no such thing as 'yard time'. After all, if anyone was let out into the open, there would be nothing to stop them from simply flying away. Even intangibility was sketchy here, especially if you were in any kind of restraint.

The prison had been mostly empty, however, before Blitz and his many crewmen had been hauled off. The Captain was kept away from his men, in the 'west' wing of the prison, and Technus was being held in the 'east' wing, also away from the pirates. In this way, the two of them had no means of communication, and no way to plan an escape. Worse, they were both shackled; arms restrained behind their backs, and a chain connecting the far wall from the cell door to their right ankles. The shackles nullified all their abilities, making them about as dangerous as a mouse in a tank of piranhas.

Captain Von Krieg had sat in silence since he had been placed in his cell. He wasn't the sort to make noise or cause problems for the guards. There wasn't much point in it at this stage, and he doubted he was going to be here for very long. The Observants had put Walker up to this, and they would likely be on their way to collect him as soon as Walker informed them of the capture. He was, however, counting on the would-be law dog to come to gloat. A moment later, Walker ensured not to disappoint – coming down the long walk to Blitz's cell.

Stopping in front of the cell, Walker made a show of taking a deep breath. "You smell that, Von Krieg?" He asked with a smirk, "It's the scent of victory – of justice finally being done."

Blitz had shut his eyes when he saw Walker approach, and without opening them he spoke in a sing-song voice:

"_Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest,_

_Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum,_

_Drink and the Devil had done for the rest,_

_Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum_..."

Walker glared in at his prisoner. "Are you listening to me, Von Krieg?"

"_The Mate was fixed by the Bosun's pike,_

_The Bosun brained with a marlin spike,_

_And Cooky's throat was marked be-like-_

_It had been gripped by fingers ten,_

_And there they lay, all good dead men,_

_Like break 'o day in a boozin' ken -_

_Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum_..."

"Stop that singing!" Walker snapped, "It's against the rules!"

At that, Blitz's eyes opened, and the Pirate King smirked, glaring dark daggers into Walker's eyes as he continued with that eternal song.

"_Fifteen men of a whole ship's list,_

_Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum,_

_Dead and cursed and the rest gone whist,_

_Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum_..."

"I told you, singing is against the rules!" Walker snapped, pulling out the Skeleton Key to use to unlock the cell quickly. He didn't see the grin that came to Von Krieg's face when the key was revealed.

"_The Skipper lay with his nob in gore,_

_Where the Scullion's ax his cheek had shorn,_

_And the Scullion he was stabbed times four,_

_And there they lay, while the soggy skies,_

_Dripped all day long in up-staring eyes,_

_At murk sunset and at foul sunrise,_

_Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum_..."

The stanza was finished just as Walker reached him, and with one swift punch stopped the song in mid-stride. The ghostly warden smirked for a moment as Von Krieg's head stayed sidewise, but then stared at him uncomprehendingly as the Pirate King spoke.

"Takes a real big man to punch a guy while he's restrained." Slowly Blitz turned his head to face he who had struck him, looking up at Walker from where he sat with a smile. "But since I'm generally a nice guy, I'll let that one slide with a warning. Next time you lay a hand on me, you're going to regret it, boy-o."

Walker grinned wickedly, leaning down to look Blitz right in the eye. "Really? And just what are you going to do?" 

Blitz just kept smiling. "You'll see."

Walker scowled. "Prisoners don't get to smile. It's against the rules." Blitz's smile just got bigger when he said it, and without another moment of hesitation – or a warning – Walker grabbed Blitz by the collar of his shirt and punched him hard enough that it made him slump sideways on his cot. Walker stepped closer then and leaned down. "I'm not seeing a whole lot, Punk."

Blitz grumbled, "Thought I told you not to call me that..." He shook his head slightly then, "Oh well, some people are just stupid I guess..." He smirked. "I can't believe you fell for it..."

"Fell for what?" Walker asked, confused.

"For this." Blitz grinned wickedly and then lunged, rolling off the bed. Walker hadn't even thought about the fact that his feet were on opposite sides of the chain that connected Blitz's ankle to the wall. By moving the way that he did, it cause the chain to loop around his feet. A powerful tug, and he was pulled off balance; his chin hitting the cot as he fell. The Pirate King, however, wasn't done with him. One leg to each side of his neck, he grabbed him with his legs and curled his body, throwing him against the opposite wall.

Dazed from the rapid attacks, Walker was sluggish as he tried to move, and Blitz was quickly up to his feet and pouncing on him. A knee to the face and repeated kicks anywhere that he could land them, and in no time flat Walker looked like he'd been on the wrong side of nine rounds with the Italian Stallion. Suit shredded and hat smashed in, he could easily have been mistaken for a ghostly hobo. However, his wits kicked in, and he finally blocked one of the attacks, getting to his feet quickly and grabbing Blitz by his coat. Spinning them around, he slammed Von Krieg against the wall, then pulled him forward and let loose with dual ecto-blasts, to pound him against the wall again.

The Pirate King slumped to the floor after the attack and stayed there. Walker smirked and made his way to the cell door again, slamming it shut and grinning as he heard the locking mechanism engage. Turning to face Von Krieg through the bars, he grinned smugly.

"And now I'm off to tell the Observants that I have you in custody – and once they get you, they're going to put you on ice for a long, long time." And with that, he turned, heading down the walk. However, Von Krieg's voice followed him with haunting lyrics.

"_Fifteen men of 'em stiff and stark,_

_Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum,_

_Ten of the crew had the murder mark,_

_Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum_..."

Walker could have gone back, could have blasted him through the bars of his cell, but it was more important to get the Observants here so _they_ could deal with him. The sooner they had him, the sooner that Von Krieg would cease to be a thorn in his side for good.

However, it is because of this failure to enforce his own 'rules' that the ghostly warden never knew about the glowing green Skeleton Key that was being twirled from one finger to the next while Captain Von Krieg sang.

==X==X==X==

Young Blood had been found, injured, but at least able to function. He'd been hit pretty good in the initial attack – he'd been up at the Governor's Mansion, talking to Blitz, when it had all started. The guards had seen more sense in knocking him out and leaving him on the island as it plummeted than taking him as a prisoner. To them, older than he used to be or not, he was still just some kid. Walker hadn't mentioned him, so they had left him to whatever fate was in store for the island. The same had essentially been done to Ember, though she had been able to stand and fight until the bitter end.

Quite a large number of ghosts had been left behind, though it was still just barely enough to crew a vessel. Barely enough was, however, still enough – and at Young Blood's direction they were already preparing the only remaining vessel to make sail. The nice thing about ghost ships was that they didn't take anywhere near the preparation that regular sailing vessels took. There wasn't even any black powder to fret over since the vessel's weapons all fired ecto-beams of one kind or another. The remaining vessel was one that had Young Blood nervous, however.

The ship was certainly not his, and it also didn't have the childish look to it that his did. Young Blood's ship was bulky and rounded with an armament that would make any real pirate laugh. Three guns for a broadside, and no stern or bow chasers to speak of... plus his 'skeleton crew' was like something out of a comedy; literally falling apart. They were ghosts of course, so that didn't mean much, but still... they were far from professional. Even so, they were all that he had ever commanded. The crewmen that were left behind to work this vessel were professionals and looked the part. They stepped lively and went about their tasks with proficiency – though that could also be explained by the vessel.

Every pirate knew whose ship they were now crewing. It was the _HMS Immortal_ – the flagship of none other than the Pirate King himself. The crewmen were determined not to mar her name, and Young Blood was nervous about commanding her. He knew it was their only real shot at mounting a full rescue attempt, but still... this was the ship of a _real_ pirate. He... he was just some kid that liked to play pretend. Sure, yeah, he called himself a pirate most of the time now, even had others refer to him as _Captain_ Young Blood whenever he had the chance.

Something soon dragged his attention away from his worries, however. Up through the floorboards, next to the helm, Danielle rose and then came to stand on them.

"Hey, look what I found!" She said happily as she gave a spin. Young Blood was looking alright, too – she wasn't wearing the jumpsuit anymore. Somehow she'd found an outfit similar to Ember's, though it was black and white, and instead of pants, it had a skirt that went down to her knees. The hat was also smaller. "What do you think?"

"I... uh..." Young Blood blushed as he looked at her. "...wow... where'd you find that?"

Dani beamed happily, "I found it down in the Captain's Cabin." She said, then tilted her head in thought. "There were a few outfits like this, and a few around the same size, but for a boy instead."

"Really?" Young Blood asked, his mind locking onto the subject for a moment, "I wonder why he had those. I mean... the boy's clothes maybe... he was sixteen when he became a captain... but I can't think of why he'd have the girl's clothes."

Dani looked at Young Blood curiously. "Did he have any kids?"

"I don't know..." Young Blood shrugged, "If he did, he never mentioned them. The only person he ever mentioned who was that close to him was his wife."

Dani smiled. "Is that who the portrait is of?"

"Yup!" Young Blood smiled, then chuckled. "She kinda makes me think of my mom when I look at her. Always smiling." He looked away then, out over the ship as the crew continued getting it ready. While most of the fleet had been in and out of the port quite a lot, the _Immortal_ had been nearly in moth-balls. The anxiety of his first real command began to come back quickly, and he slipped his hat off, running his fingers through his hair.

Danielle stepped over to him, close to his side, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're nervous, huh?"

Young Blood nodded a bit, "Yeah... I am..." He looked to her, "Until now it's all just been fun and games, y'know? Nobody was really depending on me to get things right."

Danielle smiled. "I'm sure you'll do fine. After all, we're all working together this time. What could possibly stand up to all of us?"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of." Young Blood said as he moved over to the railing, leaning on it as he looked over toward the Specter Speeder where Danny, Sam, and Tucker were with Ember. They had figured that chanting Ember's name would help her a bit – and while it had at least helped her healing factor patch up her wounds – and even her clothing to some extent – it hadn't juiced her up like they'd hoped. Then again, Klemper had followed her around for who knew how long after her first fight with Danny, saying her name, and that hadn't helped much either.

Dani stepped over to the railing as well, looking out at the other four. "You're worried about Ember?"

"Of course I am." Young Blood answered instantly, then shut his mouth quickly and sighed. "She's... kinda like the big sister I never had. We get along pretty well, too. I mean... she kinda deserted me the first time, but... I can understand that. We were losing and she could tell. Why stick around?" He shrugged, "No big deal. This time I know she won't be deserting us – Captain Von Krieg... he's treated us both pretty well. Taught us a lot."

Danielle smiled. "She's like your sister, and he's like your dad?"

Young Blood nodded. "Something like that. Dad... or Favorite Uncle, maybe."

The femme halfa nodded. "Think there's anything we can do to help Ember recharge?"

"I don't know. I mean, it's not like the two of us chanting is going to do much more than the three of them alone..." He paused, then facepalmed and looked toward the crew, running over to the railing in front of the helm. "Stand-to, ya bloody bilge rats! Heave over to port, you've got a job to do!" At once, the crewmen did as ordered, lining the railing, curiously looking toward their acting captain. "Oi, I'm not the one ye should be gawkin' at! Ember needs to recharge, and quick – you know what to do!"

The crewmen quickly got the idea, but Young Blood lead them. First the chanting was low, but it built quickly, until every crew member, and Danielle, was chanting the name of the Ghostly Queen of Rock & Roll. At first it did almost nothing, but when it grew to that powerful intensity her hair flared up high, and she stood as if she was light as a feather. Her wounds all were healed, and even her clothing was repaired back to new, courtesy of the power that built inside her. As if she couldn't believe it, she looked at her arms and along her body, then over to the crew lining the rail – and she couldn't help but smile.

Picking her guitar up from where it leaned against the Specter Speeder, she grinned and slid it on, then watched in astonishment as the colors changed. Disbelief in her eyes, the purple turned to a flaming red, and the aqua changed to a golden yellow color. She stared at it for a moment, unsure of how it was possible for such a thing to happen – but there it was in her hands.

"Something wrong, Ember?" Danny asked as he saw her reaction to the change.

"I..." Ember paused for a moment, shrugging slightly, "I don't think so... it's just..."

"Just what?" Sam and Tucker chorused curiously.

"These are the colors it had when I was alive..." Ember said as she let her hands trail along the surface. She closed her eyes, hugging the guitar close. After a moment she took a breath, and then flew up to the top of the Specter Speeder as the chanting slowly leveled off. Once she was up there, she let her fingers move along the strings into position, and then played something that everyone assembled recognized – be it from hearing her play the full song, or from various other sources.

Three long held guitar chords, and then that famous Black Sabbath _Iron Man_ riff.

As soon as it was done, she looked at the crew lining the railing and shouted, punching her fist into the air as she did: "Let's go save our Captain!" And the crew went wild with cheers.

Meanwhile, Tucker grinned and looked to Danny and Sam. "M. Bersback."

The other two couldn't help but smirk a little.

Then Danny looked up to Ember with a smirk. "Hey, Rockstar..."

"Yeah, Dipstick?" She quirked a brow.

"You know, _Jailbreak_?"

At that the ghostly rocker grinned. "AC/DC huh? Maybe your not as bad as I though." And then she began to strum the song.

After all, it was so very appropriate at the moment.


	12. Jailbreak

"Okay guys, the plan is simple." Danny said as the _HMS Immortal_ sailed through the Ghost Zone. The vessel was faster than anyone had expected. Even Young Blood was surprised at the speed. Then again, it was much faster as a ghost ship than it had been as a regular sailing ship. Gathered around near the helm, the six principal leaders of the rescue operation were discussing what they intended to do.

"Young Blood, you'll command this ship. Keep it moving, and keep it shooting. That will distract the guards and draw some of them out here." A nod from the young pirate captain and he looked to his best friends. "Sam, Tucker, you two will take the Specter Speeder inside since you can phase through the walls with it. Once you're in, put up the Speeder's ghost shield and let loose with every weapon it has. That should wreak enough havoc to keep most of the guards left inside busy." The two nodded and he looked to Ember and Danielle. "And finally, you two are with me. We're going to search for Captain Von Krieg and Technus, and try to set loose anyone else we can along the way."

The two females grinned, glancing to one another. Both had personal reasons for payback, and were glad to be part of the direct rescue attempt.

Then came the voice of the lookout in the crow's nest: "Walker's Prison, dead ahead, captain!"

Young Blood looked to the assembled group as he began to head for the port side railing. "You had all better get in position. We're almost there." Then he looked to the crewman manning the helm. "Helm, to port; bring us in so the prison is on our starboard side – then cut hard to starboard just before we reach it. I want to pour a full broadside into those walls, point-blank."

"Aye-aye, captain!" The helmsman replied, and a moment later the ship's course was slightly altered.

Meanwhile, Tucker and Sam moved to where the Specter Speeder sat on the deck, and Danny, Danielle, and Ember moved to the stern railing. Once there, Danny detailed the rest of the rescue plan.

"Alright, everything is set. The three of us are going to get off the ship and turn invisible just before getting there. We're going to wait until the battle is in full swing, and then we'll go through a hole in the wall that the ship should make in that initial barrage." He looked to Danielle then. "How long can you hold your invisibility for?"

"Ten minutes. Fifteen if I absolutely have to." Dani replied with a slight shrug. "I haven't had as much practice with it as flight and intangibility."

Danny nodded, then looked to Ember. "And you?"

"As long as I want, Dipstick." Ember replied flatly. "I'm full ghost, remember? The basics don't even drain us."

"Oh... Right... I knew that." Danny said, though neither of the females were convinced. "Alright, so we'll wait eight minutes. That should be plenty of time for the guards to distracted and pulled away from the cell blocks."

"And if they still have guards there?" Danielle asked.

Danny grinned. "Well, then we have to do things the hard way, don't we?"

Ember smirked at that. "I wouldn't mind that..."

Danielle looked at her with a smile. "I like how you think."

Danny, seeing this, tilted his head back and mouthed 'why me?'

A moment later the three of them felt the ship beginning to lean as it made its turn and took eachother's hands – Danny between Ember and Danielle. Turning invisible, the three of them flew off the deck and then followed the ship at a distance. Once the ship was alongside the prison, it opened fire with a full broadside of nineteen cannons. Within a few seconds, sirens began to wail throughout the prison and searchlights kicked on from the guard towers at the corners of the wall and above the main door. Holes were shot through the walls and the entrance doors had been blown right off their hinges.

As the ghost guards of Walker's Prison rushed to the ramparts and poured out of the prison to attack the vessel, the ghost pirates continued to fire; crewmen lining the railing of the ship with flintlock muskets. Of course, everything from the cannons to the flintlock pistols fired ecto-beams, but the weapons did their jobs splendidly. After enough of the guards rushed out to meet the fight, Sam and Tucker flew the Specter Speeder inside the prison as planned. Once deep inside, they activated the ghost shield and let loose with every weapon the Speeder had, drawing more of the guards to them and away from the cell block.

Once the battle was fully raging, Danny tugged Danielle and Ember with him and through a hole in the walls. They stayed invisible as they went deeper and deeper into the prison. They'd nearly reached the primary cell block when Danielle lost her invisibility. Seeing that, Danny and Ember dropped their own invisibility. The halls this deep in the prison were quiet thanks to all the guards making their way outside, and it looked as though it was going to be easy. Moving to the large cell block door, they found that it was automatic and required a variety of security measures to be met.

"How are we going to get through?" Danielle asked, trying to use her intangibility. Even with it active, the door wasn't letting her through.

"Looks like Walker has made some upgrades in the last couple years." Danny scowled.

"Allow me..." Ember said as she stepped up, and Danny and Danielle stepped back. Turning her guitar nob to the sonic attack, she slammed the cords and the attack blew the automatic door into the cell block. "See there? Easy as..." She blinked a bit when she registered what was on the inside of the door. "...pie..." Before her stood what looked like an entire legion of ghost guards. The cell block wasn't deserted at all. The guards were grouping there for a large attack. Shooting a glare at Danny, she growled out. "For the record, I blame you."

"Duly noted..." Danny said as he and Danielle moved to stand to either side of her.

"What are you standing around for?!" Boomed Walker's voice, and the three looked to the ghostly warden, who was standing on the second floor walkway. "Get them!"

Danielle looked to the other two. "You heard him!" She grinned, and then charged inside. Danny and Ember moved with her, unleashing a flurry of attacks. Ecto-beams aplenty came from the two halfa teens, as well as some ice breath from Danny. Sonic blasts, flames, skull beams, punch beams, and even a few melee attacks came from Ember. Yet, it seemed as though no matter how many of the guards they took out, there were always more. Left, right, front, back – they were surrounded, and it was getting worse. After a full fifteen minutes of nothing but brawling with seemingly endless enemies, Danny had enough.

Grabbing Danielle and Ember, he pulled them along and took flight until he reached a far wall and landed. "You two get behind me!"

Bewildered at the order, not to mention her own defiant, stubborn nature – Ember didn't move, at least not until Danielle pulled her behind Danny with her. "You really don't want to be in front of him right now."

"What's the difference?" Ember scowled, "He backed us into a corner!"

"No, just wait a sec' and you'll see what he's going to..." Danielle trailed off as she saw Danny getting ready for his attack, and then covered her ears as Danny unleashed his Ghostly Wail for the second time in two days. Row after row of ghost guards was blown away as the attack hit home. Ember was stunned for a moment, and then inspiration struck. Staying behind him but moving to the side, Ember unleashed the same sonic attack that she had used to combine with Kitty's kiss ability. The combination of the Ghostly Wail and the guitar's sonic attack rushed through the cell block, erasing every guard it touched.

When Danny finally had to take a breath and looked at the destruction that had been wrought by the combo, he couldn't help but stare for a moment. Not only were all the guards gone, but a wall had been blown out the back side of the prison and pieces were still crumbling off. Ember and Danielle stopped and stared as well, slowly registering the true power in that combo attack. They didn't get to think it over for very long though. While the three of them were distracted by the power that had been unleashed, Walker had recovered – having taken cover when he saw the Ghostly Wail's initial effect.

Without waiting for another second, Walker moved to the edge of the railing and pulled a weapon from the inside of his fresh suit jacket. In some sense it looked like a ray gun right out of a 1950's sci-fi show, but the beam that was unleashed was nothing to joke about. The beam struck Danny and slammed him back against the wall. A couple seconds later his transformation faltered and failed, leaving him in his human form. Danielle's eyes went wide, and then in a sudden burst of rage, she charged at Walker.

"What did you do to him?!" She shouted, charging an ecto-beam.

Walker smirked. "This." And then he let loose another shot with the ray gun, blasting Danielle and sending her flying back into the same wall that Danny had hit, with the same effect only a couple seconds later.

"What _is_ that thing?" Ember asked as she looked up toward Walker, who was grinning in that smug, wicked way of his.

"Skulker's 'get out of jail free' card, and something I've been waiting two years to use." Walker smirked as he aimed the ray gun at Ember. "Now, let's see what it does to a full ghost..."

Ember's eyes went wide, but before Walker could fire, there was a sharp whistle. Looking to the side, Walker stopped and stared. "How...?" He trailed off as he stared at Blitz. "How in the Ghost Zone did you get out of your cell?!" Turning quickly, he moved to aim the ray gun at Blitz, but the Pirate King was quicker – firing off an ecto-beam from his trigger finger and blasting the ray gun from his hand.

"Check your pockets, Walker." Blitz grinned, "Missing anything?"

Walker's eyes narrowed and he patted at his pockets, realization slowly dawning on him that the Skeleton Key was missing... which meant that... "Give me that key!"

"Don't have it." Blitz shrugged. "I'd say I was sorry, but... I imagine that lying is against the rules." He smirked.

"Then where is it?!" Walker demanded, and Blitz pointed upward as numerous feet pounded along the catwalk of the level above.

"Technus has had it the last few minutes, and he's been freeing my crew." Blitz grinned wickedly as Walker's eyes went small, realizing what it would mean if the entire pirate crew was set loose. Then he thought about the fact that he himself was now about to be surrounded by pirates.

"I hate you..." Walker said slowly as he looked toward Blitz. "...so... _so_ much..."

Blitz grinned. "Feeling's mutual, G-man."

As more and more of the crew were freed from their cells, the cell block resonated with the sound of their war cries, to the point where the sirens and alarms were nearly drowned out. A moment later, the sirens and alarms began to die off, the entire prison shaking as more and more blasts from the _Immortal_'s cannons pounded along. The entire complex began to shudder violently then as Blitz focused on the ray gun and made it fly to his own hand.

Walker's eyes went wide. "How...?"

"Telekinesis – _duh_." Blitz smirked and aimed the ray gun at Walker. "Now... _march_."

At that same moment, Technus came up behind Blitz. "What are you doing? We need to get out of here; the entire place is coming down!"

Without turning to face his ally, Blitz continued on, forcing Walker to move. "Just make sure Ember and the two halfa kids get out of here, Technus. Walker here owes me something."

"Owes you something?"

"Just _go already_..." Blitz snapped, and Technus elected not to ask any more questions. Instead, he moved to Ember and tossed Danny's unconscious form over his shoulder; Ember carrying Danielle in her arms as they and the freed crewmen made for the nearest exit to the _Immortal_.

With them gone, Blitz continued to lead Walker along, until they reached the same cell that Blitz himself had been locked up in. "Get in and put that restraint around your ankle, Walker."

"If you think for a single second that I'm going to let you lock me up in _my own prison_, you have another thing coming, Punk." Walker said defiantly.

"Okay, fine..." Blitz said with a grin, and then bashed Walker on the back of the head with the butt of the ray gun, stunning him just long enough to shove him into the cell and slam the door shut. "...don't put the restraint on. The cell alone should hold you long enough."

Walker groaned, hand on his head as he faced the Pirate King, "Long enough for what?"

Von Krieg smirked. "An island for an island, Walker. You owe me. And just to make sure you can't do anything rash..." He set the ray gun on a low setting and used the beam to melt the cell's lock, welding it in place. "There. Now... bon voyage! Enjoy the ride, creep!"

As Blitz ran off the way that they had come from, Walker was left to contemplate just what exactly he has been blathering on about. When he finally did, he pounded against the cell door with his fists, kicked it as hard as he could, and even threw all his weight against it – all to no avail. Even the couple guards that eventually arrived couldn't get the door open. It was sealed tight – and soon enough, they decided that it was more important to get out of the prison and save themselves than it was to try and save their soon-to-be ex-boss.

Outside, the Specter Speeder had just landed on the _Immortal_'s deck, Ember having grabbed one of the Fenton Phones off Danny's ear to call Sam and Tucker once the crew was aboard. As soon as it was settled onto the deck, the prison was rocked with a huge explosion. Then another, and another after that before it began to plummet, just as had happened to Avarice Island. Danny and Danielle woke up just in time to stagger to their feet and over to the railing with the rest of the crew in order to watch. Much of the crew was of a mind to celebrate until Young Blood asked a question.

"Where's Captain Von Krieg?"

The crew, realizing that individually they couldn't remember seeing him aboard, began to look in every direction. Young Blood stared expectantly at Technus, Ember, Danny and Danielle, waiting for an answer. Danny and Danielle looked at one another, having not seen him before being knocked out by Walker. Ember looked down and away, her eyes suddenly riveted to the sight of the prison as it began to plummet faster and faster toward the graveyard floor of the Ghost Zone. Technus looked toward the prison as well, then took a breath. He was probably the least qualified to deal with emotions, but someone had to tell Young Blood.

"Young Blood..." Technus began as he looked toward Young Blood, his voice subdued, losing the over-the-top excited quality and the high pitch it normally had, "...Captain Von Krieg stayed behind." He looked then to the prison as it neared its final resting place. "He was going to do something with Walker... I suspect we're seeing the results..."

Young Blood's eyes went wide and he looked down toward the prison, watching as it drew closer and closer to impact. "Come on... come on... get out of there, old man!"

As if unheard by the universe, the prison seemed to accelerate in its descent before slamming into the endless graveyard. The shockwave from the impact was visible, and shook the ship lightly as it swept up and past the vessel. The island was broken into pieces, and the prison itself was little more than rubble, just as Avarice Island had been after it was knocked down by Walker and his henchmen. Nobody moved or spoke for a moment, everyone holding a breath that need not have been taken by most of those present, hoping for a miracle that seemed destined not to come.

"He's..." Ember couldn't form the words, and looked toward Technus. "Is he...?"

"I'm afraid so, Ember." Technus said softly, "His ectoplasmic structure couldn't have survived that kind of impact."

"No..." Young Blood said softly, tears touching his eyes. "No, no no no... he can't be gone..."

"Of course I'm not gone." The sudden voice made everyone turn to face the aft mast, and there before them, hanging out from the rigging with a grin, was Captain Von Krieg, "Not much point to winning if the winner isn't around to see it, is there?" Grabbing a rope, he swung down to the aft castle and opened his arms wide. Without hesitation, Young Blood and Ember both nearly tackled him as they hugged him tight, and he returned it happily, holding both of them close. "Thank you, both of you." He said softly as he held them – and it was apparent to all around them that he felt of them as they felt of him; like a family.

"Actually..." Young Blood began as he and Ember leaned back, "It wasn't just us..." The two of them turned and Blitz looked toward Danny and Danielle, who were flanked by a concerned Sam and Tucker. "The four of them helped, too."

"So I see..." Blitz nodded and stood tall then, walking toward the four friends. "It seems that I owe you four a debt." He looked at Danny and Danielle then, "How do the two of you feel?"

"Like I just got keelhauled..." Danny said with a hand on his head, wincing slightly.

"And to think I just got over yesterday's headache..." Danielle added, leaning against her 'cousin'.

"Any idea what that ray gun shot us with?" Danny asked.

Blitz shrugged and tugged it from the bandolier that hung across his chest. "No idea. I've never seen one of these before." He said, offering it to Danny, "You take it. When you get back to the human world, you might have a way to figure it out. I sure don't."

Danny nodded and took the ray gun, looking it over. He nearly expected Axion's logo to be on it somewhere, but he saw no such thing. Instead, he saw only two things: the first was a serial number. The second was a swastika. His mind swam with the possibilities of what it meant, but most of all he wondered where the heck Walker had gotten his hands on it.


	13. Addition & Subtraction

"So what do you think Young Blood and the others are going to do now?" Danielle asked at lunch the next day. The group was outside instead of cooped up in the cafeteria, and until a minute or two ago they had been talking about the field trip that was scheduled for Friday. Mr. Falkenrath was taking his history class, along with two others, to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. They hadn't yet reached World War Two in his class – as of today they were in World War One, but they'd be to World War Two by Friday.

"Hard to say, Dani..." Danny said after he swallowed the mouthful of sandwich he'd been working on. "Avarice Island was knocked out, and rather than taking over Walker's Prison, Captain Von Krieg destroyed it; eye for an eye. All he, his crew, and his allies have now is that one ship. Even Young Blood's ship was destroyed."

"Knowing Ember, Young Blood, and Technus, they'll probably go back to their individual schemes." Tucker said as he leaned on the table, looking through his PDA for City Hall business. "Their track record of sticking together with allies isn't very good."

"Tucker's right about that." Sam put in, "Ember abandoned Young Blood the first time. Doesn't work well with anyone unless they're winning – as shown when she teamed up with Spectra and Kitty. Young Blood will probably be pretending to be something else by tomorrow, and Technus... well... despite how intelligent he seems to be, he's probably going to end up attacking a Radio Shack by the end of the week, or something along those lines."

Danielle looked down at the table then. "I hope not." She said softly, "I think it would be nice if they stuck together."

Danny, Sam, and Tucker looked at her for a moment as if she'd grown a second head – then Sam and Tucker looked to Danny. Figuring they wanted him to be the one to ask what was on everyone's minds, he rolled his eyes a bit and then looked to Danielle as he spoke. "Why would you want them to stay together? They're a lot more dangerous that way, even if they did lose so much recently."

"I..." She scratched the back of her head, "...they seemed happy. Or... well... at least as happy as they ever seem to be. Ember and Young Blood seemed to really care about Captain Von Krieg, and Technus, even if he doesn't get emotional, there was _some_ kind of a bond there. A brotherly sort, you know? Like a couple of uncles that end up having to play dad to a couple kids."

Danny chuckled, "Sounds like a sitcom." Then he paused for a moment and really thought about it. He didn't admit it out loud, but Danielle had a point. From how they all talked, they'd been working, and even coexisting in close proximity, for about two years. Ever since the disasteroid incident had threatened everyone and everything. And... they really had seemed like a family. It was like watching two favorite uncles have to play father to a couple of orphaned kids.

At the thought, he smiled a little bit. "Well... who knows? Maybe they'll weather the storm. They've all been together for two years already. There is a chance that they'll stick together." And then like the hungry male that he was, his focus rapidly shifted back to the food at his fingertips. Sam and Tucker shared a look, silently communicating that they certainly hoped that the ghosts went their separate ways. They were more than enough of a problem on their own. All three of their old enemies teamed up with a new ghost that seemed quite capable in his own right was _not_ on their list of pleasant things to deal with.

Sensing a good time to shift their path of discussion, Sam looked to Danielle. "So how long are you going to be staying this time?"

Tucker jumped on the new subject. "Yeah, I'm surprised you're even still here. Last time you just stayed long enough to say thanks and then flew the coop."

Danielle smiled. "I think I might stay around this time. I mean, _technically_, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton _are_ my parents." She smirked a little at Danny, "Right?"

Danny's eyes went wide and he stared at her. "Are you actually suggesting what I _think_ you're suggesting? You want to tell them?"

"Why not?" Dani shrugged a bit, "I mean it's been over two years. What's the sense in keeping it from them? Vlad is gone, and you, Jazz, and the two of them are my only family. Seeing the world is great, but it gets lonely, and I don't have any way to make money unless I can get a job... or steal it." She grinned a little, "And you certainly wouldn't want to force your own flesh and blood into a life of crime, would you, _big brother_?"

Sam sniggered at the bit of blackmail, and Tucker tried not to grin – but failed terribly as Danny glared at his younger, feminine clone. However, after a moment or two, the stern glare faded and was replaced with a smile as he warmed to the idea.

"After being the younger sibling all my life, it might be nice to be an older sibling finally." Danny smiled, "Why not?"

"Really?!" Danielle said excitedly, hopping up onto the bench and almost tackling her 'big brother' into a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret it, I promise! I'll be the best little sister ever! I'll do all my homework, and clean my room, and help in the lab, and do all my chores, and hep you fight the ghosts, and _everything_!"

Danny laughed softly, returning the hug with one arm. "Whoa, calm down, Pip. We still need to talk to mom and dad to fill them in. Then we have to pick out a room for you, get you setup in school and everything that goes along with you settling down here in Amity Park. Okay?"

Danielle couldn't help but have the smile fixed on her lips. "I know, but... I'm excited! This is the first time I'm really going to have a home..." She then tilted her head and looked up at Danny curiously. "But... one question?"

"Sure." Danny grinned, "What?"

"Pip?"

"Short for Pipsqueak."

"Hey!" Dani laughed, swatting Danny's arm.

"You asked!" Danny beamed, and Sam and Tucker laughed.

==X==X==X==

Once Danny and Danielle reached Fenton Works after school, having walked back with Sam and Tucker, they slipped inside and left the other two to wait in Danny's room while they talked to _their_ parents. Not finding them in the living room or kitchen, the two half-ghosts made their way down to the lab and found them working on a couple of new pieces of gear. Ever since Danny's reveal to the world, they'd taken more caution with their designs, as well as knowing now that if something clued in on Danny it was actually working.

"Mom? Dad?" Danny began, "Uh... can we talk about something?"

"Sure, sweetie." Maddie said as she finished soldering something or other together. Standing upright, she rubbed her lower back from being leaned over too long, and then pulled her jumpsuit's hood and goggles back so that her skin could breathe.

"What is it, son?" Jack added as he stepped over, still screwing a couple of pieces of some other gizmo together. "And who's your friend?" He asked as he saw the younger girl that was leaned out from behind Danny's back.

"Mom... dad..." Danny stepped to the side and slid an arm around Danielle, pulling her in front of him, "This... is my sister, Danielle." Maddie and Jack stared for a moment, then looked to eachother, bewildered, and back to Danny. They were stunned, with no idea where to start with a response, and Danny took the chance to continue while Danielle gave a shy wave. "Don't worry, I know that sounds crazy, but here me out..." He said, putting his hands on Dani's shoulders.

"Back before I revealed that I was Danny Phantom, one of the things that Vlad attempted to do was clone me. He wanted a son. Specifically he wanted a version of me that would do as he instructed. Danielle here is the the only attempt that survived. The others... well... they didn't have happy endings." He and Dani both shuddered at the memories of what happened. "The point, of course, is that Danielle here is family... and she wants to live with us... and she has nowhere else to go."

Danielle was about to start in with the rapid fire rant about how good of a daughter she would be when Danny put a hand over her mouth and spoke for her. "And she'll be a good daughter."

Maddie and Jack looked to one another again for a moment, concern clearly written across their features, but smiles slowly coming to them as they looked to the kids. They had no reason to doubt what Danny was saying, especially knowing what a creep Vlad had been and seeing the resemblance between the two teens before them. Maddie was the first to speak: "Well, then I say we find her a room, and she, Jazz, and I can go shopping in a couple hours."

Danielle's eyes went wide and she yanked Danny's hand down from her mouth. "Really?!"

"Really, dear." Maddie smiled happily. She and Jack certainly hadn't planned on another child, but they couldn't very well turn her away, either. Besides that, it would be nice to have a young daughter again. Jazz had been an adult for a long time now, even if she had only legally become so this year. And she was probably going to be moving down to Los Angeles next fall. She could easily have attended Yale or Harvard or any of the other prestigious schools to the east – but she had decided to attend UCLA first, and then transfer if she felt the need to later.

"Thank you!" Danielle shouted happily, and immediately ran and hugged Maddie tight.

Jack, of course, was happy to have another kid in the house – though it was easy to tell that something was bothering him. "I just have one question..." He said as he looked at Danielle. "If you're Danny's clone... why are you a girl?"

Maddie, shot a look over her shoulder at Jack. "Jack, is now really the time to wonder..." She trailed off, then looked down at Danielle curiously. "Actually..." She looked to Danny, then down to Danielle, and bad to Danny. "Your father has a decent point." She looked down at Danielle, "How _did_ you end up as a girl? I hate to give that man credit for anything, but... Vlad knew more than enough how not to mix up chromosomes. I would think it would have been a straight-forward process for him."

Both teens shrugged – the ghost part of the experiments didn't explain Danielle becoming a girl; all the other clones had been male. Why the most viable of them all had ended up female was a mystery that neither teen could solve. Nor did they especially care to. For them, the facts were that Dani had been a girl from the start, and that's all that mattered.

Almost as an after-thought, Danny pulled his backpack off and handed the ray gun over to his father. Jack looked at it, at first with a grin thinking it was a novelty piece, until he realized that it was, in fact, a weapon. "Where did you get this, son?"

"Yesterday, in the Ghost Zone..." Danny began, and then went on to explain the events of the day prior. By the time that he was done, Jack and Maddie were both looking at the weapon like it was a live snake that they had just seen bite their son and new daughter.

"And you say it was able to force you out of your transformations?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah." Danny said, Danielle nodding – now standing beside Danny. "Walker blasted me with it first, and then did the same thing to Danielle; same effect both times. Whatever it is, we both woke up with horrible head and body aches. Any idea what it fires?"

"Not from just looking at it..." Jack said, stepping away to the nearest workbench, "But it looks like it's put together pretty simply..." He turned it this way and that, making sure its selector switch was on 'safety'; though Danny had done that far earlier. Soon enough he had taken it apart simply by removing a few pins with pressure springs that held the larger pieces together. Seeing the internal parts was interesting, but he didn't see the power source. Looking the grip over again, he saw a release button and pressed it. As soon as he did, a glowing green cylinder fell out from the grip onto the work bench.

Blinking at the sudden drop, Jack set the grip back down and picked up the cylinder. Looking to his wife, he spoke softly, curiously. "What do you make of that, Maddie?"

"I don't know, Jack..." She said softly as she stepped over and gently took the cylinder from him. Moving over to a microscope, she placed the cylinder under it in a clamp and peered through to see what it was. "Hmm... whatever it is, it's liquid. Looks like there are two tiny mixing pieces, one at each end, keeping the liquid in motion." She adjusted the nobs on the microscope, zooming in further, "The structure doesn't appear to naturally be a liquid though. In fact, it... looks more like a lattice structure; like a crystal of some kind." She paused, adjusting the nobs again, "Wait a minute..."

She stood straight then, moving to another desk and grabbing a book before moving back to the microscope. Looking through it again, she checked it, and then began flipping pages through the book, looking at pictures. Back and forth she went comparing what she was seeing in the microscope to different entries in the book, until finally she zeroed in on one. "There it is... that's it alright..." She leaned back and looked down at the entry, staring at it for a moment curiously. "It's a match, for certain, but one that doesn't make any sense for the Ghost Zone."

"Doesn't make any sense?" Danielle asked.

"What is it?" Danny added curiously.

Maddie, not sure exactly how to say it, decided that quick and painless was the best bet. "It's Ectoranium. Just like what the disasteroid was made of." She paused for a moment, to let that sink in, before asking. "Danny, have you tried to transform since you were hit by the beam?"

"No... I haven't needed to." Danny replied, and then suddenly got the hint. In alarm, he tried to transform. Danielle followed suit, but to the same result.

Both failed.


	14. Aftermath

All through Monday night and Tuesday morning, Danny and Danielle tried to adjust to the recent events in their lives. Living together, being a family – or in Dani's case, _having_ a family – and being without their powers. Maddie and Jack weren't sure how to help Danny and Danielle with their powers. They grasped how their powers worked, but the way that their powers had been disabled was unique. A blood test had revealed the facts easily enough. The Ectoranium Ray Gun, or ERG as it had been shortened to, had not simply fired an energy beam. In truth, the gun was a full blown particle weapon.

What that meant was that it both fired energy, in this case in the form of beam of Ectoranium radiation, but laced in with the beam were particles of Ectoranium itself. The longer that Maddie and Jack studied the ERG, the worse things seemed. By the time that they got its full function down, they had dubbed it a 'ghost killer'. The weapons that they developed were, comparatively, harmless. Oh sure, they'd be painful, but they had never developed a weapon that could kill a ghost with – potentially – a single shot.

The radiation beam wouldn't be fatal alone, but the Ectoranium particles could be with how they functioned. The particles that had hit Danny and Danielle were now laced into their blood stream and running interference between their bodies and the ectoplasm that had bonded with them. The particles being as small as they were, Jack and Maddie weren't sure how to get it out of their bodies. Tissue samples had also been taken, and revealed that it wasn't simply their blood that was laced with the ghost-harming radioactive material, but their entire bodies. Even a full blood transfusion wouldn't fix the problem.

Two hours had been spent on the problem, Jack and Maddie working as quickly as they could – and Jack, for once, being careful. That along had shocked Danny, but also made him eternally grateful to whatever higher power there was that his father wasn't totally clueless. After they discovered what there was to discover, Maddie had taken Danielle and Jazz out shopping for things to put in Danielle's room – everything from a bed to clothing and other stuff. Meanwhile, Danny, Jack, Tucker, and Sam had moved some things into one of the now former guest rooms. It would be a couple days until the room was setup properly, but at least she'd have something to sleep on.

The Fentons, overall, went from four to five with a quick pace and relative ease. They even ate dinner together with Sam and Tucker as an additional couple of guests. Danny himself decided to take the schematics for the ERG to school with him tomorrow as a hand-off to Valerie. Now that she was an ally of theirs, he trusted her completely, and a wrist-mounted modified ERG would be a big upgrade. His parents, of course, had modified the schematic that would be given to Valerie to be non-lethal. Rather than a particle weapon, they had reduced it to a regular beam weapon.

The next morning, Maddie and Jack drove Danielle, Danny, and Jazz to school so that they could enroll Danielle. Their next stop after that would be City Hall so that they could get all her papers in order. There was a lot of footwork that they had to do, but they were happy to do it, and Tucker promised them that he'd have his people push the papers through so everything would be squared away as soon as possible. Danny took it upon himself to introduce Danielle to Mr. Falkenrath, and she was happy to learn that she would be on of the students going on the field trip due to the class she was put in.

With everything settled for the moment, the group had spit up. Jazz off to her classes, Danielle off to her own – something she was both nervous and excited about – and Danny, Sam, and Tucker to their own classes for the day. Home room went about the same way that it always did, but History class had something new in store. When they stepped into the room, it almost looked like a mad scientist's laboratory. Then again, they usually had History, Science, and Math all in this same room, so it usually had a few things laying around for Science class. However, it never was done up like this.

Mr. Falkenrath also had a projector setup at the front of the class, and was wearing clothing that seemed to truly harken back to the style of the 1920's and 30's. Once everyone took their seats, he grinned and moved to the projector. "Alright class, considering our field trip this week, I've decided to do a little something special, and if you enjoy it, I just might continue it for as long as possible." He fired up the projector and asked. "Anyone heard of _Epic Rap Battles of History_?" Mostly he seemed to get blank looks, but there were a few kids that fist-pumped – Tucker being one of them. "A couple fans, I see. Well, you're all about to be introduced... especially since these actually tie in to our lessons."

Stepping over to the computer at his desk, he had a student near the door kill the lights and then connected the projector to the computer. Up popped the video for _Nikola Tesla vs Thomas Edison_. It was at full screen to help everyone see it. By the time it was over, the students actually seemed to be a bit engaged, and so he brought up the other window that had _Blackbeard vs Al Capone_ already loaded up and waiting. When it was done he could see and hear some of the students debating who the winners were while he put the projector away and had the lights flipped on again.

"Alright class, settle down..." Mr. Falkenrath said, and after a moment of standing, waiting quietly, the students found themselves focused on him. "Good. Now, I'm assuming that some of you are wondering at the equipment in the room, yes?" He got nods from the students and smiled. "Those two videos and this equipment are linked. You see, today we'll be finishing up World War One, and then moving to the decades between the wars. The aftermath, if you will, of World War One – and the events that set the stage for World War Two. We will also be covering a couple of things that spill over into Science.

For instance, the reason that I showed you the video with Tesla and Edison was the fact that these two men were potentially the greatest minds of their time in the United States. They worked together for some time before a nasty split that destroyed their working relationship and pitted them against one another. Edison was all about money. Tesla was about scientific advancement and the betterment of people. The video actually portrayed their personalities rather well, aside from the fact that they didn't know what rap was." He grinned, then went on.

"Tesla actually did have a way to wirelessly transmit electrical energy to any point on the surface of the Earth. Small scale tests proved his theories. He was going to build a transmission tower on Long Island in New York. The fifty thousand dollars mentioned by Edison in the video is a reference to something that actually happened. Edison went to the bank that Tesla was getting the money from to build the tower, and convinced the bank to stop. Tesla was fifty grand short of finishing the tower, and it was never completed. The tower was eventually torn down and the land sold to cover Tesla's debts, since unlike Edison, he wasn't a rich man. He eventually died, alone and penniless, and for a long, long time his brilliance lay in his grave and in the patents and he left behind."

Mr. Falkenrath grinned then. "I... however... have been working with these notes and... well..." He grave a pseudo-innocent look, "Let's just that Tesla's genius might be soon to make a comeback." He shook his head and returned to the track. "Blackbeard and Capone link to our lesson today because, post World War One, we ended up with Prohibition in the United States, by Congressional ban. Capone more so than Blackbeard, or course, due to the era that we'll be talking about. Now, please get your books out and turn to page..."

==X==X==X==

Meanwhile, in the Ghost Zone, the crew of the _Immortal_ had returned to what was left of Avarice Island. They had returned with the intent to salvage what they could, though there was little left. The sight of the island's remains was depressing. It had played home to Technus, Young Blood, and Ember for two years. Sure, yeah, they each had their own lairs to return to – but Avarice Island had actually felt like a home for them. They'd felt like they had a family for the first time since any of them died. Now it was gone, or most of it was.

The island's defenses were in the process of being dismantled and moved onto the _Immortal_. Her cannons would be replaced by the special ones that Technus had created for the island. Their size being similar, it would be an easy swap. The three of them, Ember, Technus, and Young Blood, had agreed that they wouldn't be abandoning Captain Von Krieg. They simply couldn't, not after the bond that they all shared. Even Technus, though he was loath to admit it, recognized that there was something more to this alliance than simple teamwork. They shared an emotional, familial connection.

Blitz was thankful to them, and in light of that had announced that they would all be staying together to the crew. Then he went off on his own to find the last piece that would make the armament swap complete. Danny had been right when he assumed that the island required a vast amount of power for its defenses and the other accoutrements. He had been wrong, however, about the power source itself. After nearly an hour of digging through rubble, Blitz had made his way beneath the ruins of the Governor's Mansion, and was now moving through half collapsed hallways and tunnels that went deeper.

Down, down, down he went, until he finally came upon a large room. It was the size of a small cavern, and held within was a wealth of plunder. Most of it was actually modern – everything from cash, clothes, and art, to electronics. However, there was also a healthy amount of old school pirate treasure as well. Gold coins were littered everywhere, as well as jewels and other gems; even pearls. The centerpiece was the island's power source. Stepping up to the short pedestal – a cut off stalagmite – he looked the device over. It looked something like the engine out of a car, with pipes running around it, but it was also boxy, with no place, seemingly, for anything to go in or out.

The only thing that came out was electricity, as evidenced by the large wires that connected it to a small tower with a domed top. Looking over the device, he saw the words and grinned:

_FacTotum Industries_

_Molecular Reactor_

_Model: X001_

_Serial Number: 01_

"Hello, beautiful..." Blitz grinned to himself. Grabbing hold of the wire that connected both the reactor and the tower beside it, he teleported back to the ship with both units and went about having his men set it up in the room that was formerly the powder magazine. While they set about it, he went to find his little family. Technus would need to supervise the connection of the power system to the cannons, though he doubted there would be any problems. As he made for them, he glanced up, hearing what sounded like a motorcycle screaming past overhead.

==X==X==X==

History class had just ended, and Danny, Sam, and Tucker had elected to hang around for a few minutes to talk to Mr. Falkenrath. Considering the Tesla Coils in the room and the things that he had mentioned earlier about his own working with such devices, they had figured that he might know something about how to get the Ectoranium out of Danny and Danielle's systems. They'd just explained what had happened on Sunday, and Mr. Falkenrath was stroking his chin in thought.

"So... do you think you can help?" Danny asked hopefully.

"I don't know..." Mr. Falkenrath replied as he stood from his chair and walked over to the board. Picking up a piece of chalk, he began to write some equations. "My company has worked with Ectoranium in the past, but never with weaponry like you described. A particle weapon that forces amounts of the element itself to bond with its target sounds absolutely fearsome. Worse, the weapon seems to be entirely powered by the element, and lost almost none of its fuel when it was fired. A high capacity for ammunition is an understatement. In some sense, it fits the description of a disruptor type of weapon."

"A disruptor?" Sam asked curiously – though Tucker was the one to answer.

"It's sci-fi lingo. Basically means that the beam effects all body tissue in a cascade effect; spreading out like light through a prism as it moves from one cell to the next."

Mr. Falkenrath smiled. "Quite right, Tucker. Good analogy, too." He nodded, "And that's exactly what the ERG seems to have done. Most disruptors would absolutely destroy body tissues, but because Ectoranium doesn't effect humans, all it did to Danny and Danielle was knock out their ghost powers and make them unusable. All I can think of to counter this would be to remove or destroy the particles somehow, but with Ectoranium being an element unto itself, breaking it down isn't a viable option. Due to the atomic size, however, it might be possible to extract it, or pull off the loose electrons that are forcing it to be an isotope. If that can be done, it could be rendered inert, even if it is still inside you."

"And that would give us our powers back?" Danny asked.

Mr. Falkenrath nodded. "Yes, that would give your powers back." He said as he looked at the board and the equations he'd been working on. "And this here is the solution to how to do exactly that."

Danny blinked and looked at the board. "You were working on the solution all that time?"

"Yep." Falkenrath grinned, "What?"

The teens shook their heads and Tucker spoke. "So what's the solution?"

Falkenrath pointed toward the Tesla Coils at the corners of the room. "Those... or, devices like them. The ones here can't generate the kind of output we need. However, on Friday we can stop by my Tower in Los Angeles and use equipment there. We'll call it an impromptu tour."

The three looked at him curiously, and this time it was Sam that spoke. "What's this company that you've mentioned? Aren't you just a staff member at the school?"

Mr. Falkenrath grinned a bit. "No, actually. Until I moved to Amity Park, I was only teaching as a hobby. I'm actually the owner and operator of FacTotum Industries. We're headquartered in four cities in the United States – Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, and Washington D.C."

Sam's mouth went slack for a moment. "_You're_ the owner of that company? Did it net over seven hundred _billion dollars_ last year?"

Bastian grinned. "That it did – and I take one percent of that for my personal accounts, put ten percent into charities, and the rest stays in the company. Things have operated that way for the last... oh, seventy years or so."

Danny tilted his head. "How old is that company?"

"Well, it was founded in 1873, so... you do the math." Mr. Falkenrath grinned, "And under my family's watchful eye it has grown and prospered for that entire time. Our only true slump was the Great Depression, and even then we forged ahead. I have to say that I'm rather proud of how long my family has kept this company going, and I shall surely not let the company falter on my watch."

"Hold on a minute... back up..." Tucker said, holding up a hand, "Did you say that you took one percent of seven hundred billion dollars for _personal_ funds?" Mr Falkenrath nodded, and Tucker looked at him in envy. "Dude, that's seven billion dollars... how do you even spend that much money?"

Bastian laughed, then grinned as he looked at Tucker. "Let's put it this way... life is never dull, and women are always plentiful."

"Oh come on..." Tucker groaned, "I'm jealous of a teacher now? I'm the mayor!"

Danny chuckled and shook his head, clapping a hand on Tucker's shoulder. "It could be worse."

"Worse how?" Tucker asked as he looked at Danny.

"He could pity you."

Tucker simply crossed his arms.

Sam on the other hand was glaring at Mr. Falkenrath. "You know, not all women fall for men because of money, clothes, cars, or other _stuff_."

"This is true." Bastian nodded solemnly, "But... _most_ do. And if all I'm interested in is having fun for one night, I don't need them to have some deep emotional connection with me." He shrugged, "My wife and I, rest her soul, had an open relationship. Random women were in and out of our bed all the time because we both threw the money around whenever we felt like it."

"Wait, are you saying that your wife was...?" Danny began, not sure if he should finish the question.

"Bisexual?" Bastian finished for him.

"Uh... yeah."

"She was." Bastian grinned, "And life was awesome."

"Has anyone ever told you that your life sounds like what teenage boys dream of their lives being?" Sam asked, still glowering at him because of how he'd spoken of women a moment ago. Partly because of her feminist ideals, and partly because – though she was loath to admit it – she knew he was right. Girls with the attitude of Paulina and Star were a dime a dozen. The worthwhile ones were rare.

"In those exact terms? No, but the sentiment has been expressed." Bastian smiled softly, "You're sore at me because of what I said, aren't you?"

Sam opened her mouth to speak, then shut it and looked away, arms crossed.

"Sam..." Bastian sighed, "Look, if you took offense to what I said, then I apologize. I was not including you or other girls like you who do not obviously fit the parameters of what I said. You do understand that, don't you?"

Sam was quiet for a moment, then finally nodded. "Yeah, I know..."

"Good." Bastian smiled, then glanced to the clock. "Now, you three have only a couple of minutes before the next class. And... your lockers are about that far away if you walk."

At that, the three of them looked toward the clock, and then made for the door.

"This one time," Bastian smirked as he watched them, "I'll waive the rule about not running in the halls."

As soon as they reached the door and opened it, however, the roaring of a motorcycle filled their ears – and a couple seconds later, Johnny 13 went by on his bike in the hallway. Danny's immediate reaction was to try and transform, but it did no good. He was still stuck with just his human form. Tucker and Sam looked to one another with worry etched on their faces. Normally Johnny would have been a cinch to deal with, but without his powers Danny couldn't do anything. He'd get thrashed by Shadow, or even just by Johnny himself. Without his powers, Shadow wouldn't even be needed in the fight.

"What do we do?" Sam asked as she looked to Danny.

"Yeah, man – we have our thermoses, but that's it." Tucker added.

"You two go find Jazz and Danielle. Jazz should have the Fenton Peeler, and Danielle should at least be included. She's part of the team now too, after all." Danny replied as he looked to his friends. "Tucker, leave your thermos with me. I'm going to see what I can do while you two get the others."

The hand-off of the thermos was made, and his two comrades were soon off to retrieve the other two members of Team Phantom. As soon as they were out of sight, however, Danny looked down at the thermos and felt himself at a loss for the first time in a _long_ time. Johnny was normally cake. Now he might as well have been Pariah Dark. Still, he didn't just give up. He had to think of a plan. Jazz had the Peeler, but he wasn't sure how much use it would be, and he didn't want to wait for her to have to come to the rescue. He loved his sister, but if she was given any reason to think that she had more standing than she actually did, she tended to go overboard with it. Her ego didn't need the boost.

He then remembered something, and he looked up and around the room at the Tesla Coils. "Mr. Falkenrath, what was the output on these coils again?"

==X==X==X==

A minute later, Bastian was in the halls, searching for the chaos causing biker. Like always, Johnny and Kitty had a fight, and the ghost had ended up here to wreak havoc – or at least that was Danny's theory. Thankfully, the ghost's intent to simply blow off steam worked in their favor. Johnny wasn't thinking tactically, he was simply thinking about feeling better, which didn't take a whole lot of thinking, really. He wasn't hard to find. He'd made his way into the gymnasium, and was chasing some of the students around and around the large room. Seeing that, Bastian moved to where the equipment was stored.

Grabbing a bat and a couple of baseballs, he put one in his pocket and moved back into the gym. Johnny was faced away from him, and he took his chance. Tossing the ball up, he hit it and drove it home – right into the middle of Johnny's back. The impact and unexpected pain nearly made him lose control of his bike, but he managed to stop safely. He looked back just in time to hear the crack before the next ball hit him in the face and knocked him off his bike. Glaring daggers as he got up, Johnny shouted an order.

"Shadow, attack!" And then pointed toward Mr. Falkenrath. Shadow came to life then and peeled away from him, flying toward Mr. Falkenrath.

Bastian's eyes went wide and he rushed for the door, followed by Shadow, and Johnny once he got back on his ride. Bastian ran out of the gym, then tucked and rolled, Shadow simply phasing through the door and making a swipe at him. The sentient shadow missed, and the billionaire teacher sprang to his feet and charged down the hall and around the nearest corner, Shadow hot on his heels. The drone finally caught him in front of a door that was marked with signs saying not to go inside because it was dangerous. All manner of warnings about toxins and other things.

Back to the door, Bastian looked up at Shadow, fear in his eyes. "Oh... crap..."

Johnny showed up at that moment and looked at the signs on the door, getting a wicked idea. "Shadow, toss him inside. Let's see what happens to the old man."

Bastian's eyes went wide. "Please, you can't, this room is full of toxic chemicals! Don't you see that?!"

"Oh, I see it alright..." Johnny smirked. "Shadow! Now!"

At that instant, Shadow grabbed Bastian and lifted him up.

"No! Please... please don't..."

Shadow, of course, didn't listen. He turned them both intangible and threw Bastian across the room. However, Shadow soon realized that something was off. There were no chemicals lying around anywhere. Just a bunch of equipment, and he looked toward Bastian questioningly.

Bastian just grinned up at Shadow and pulled out a small remote. "Oh... please..." He said mockingly, then smirked and grew serious. "...don't toss me into the briar patch..." And with the press of a button, the Tesla Coils kicked on, flooding the room with enough alternating current to fry Shadow in an instant; worse than if he had been hit by a bright light. At the same time, Danny hopped out of the room's supply closet and cracked open the Fenton Thermos, sucking the weakened Shadow inside.

"Nice work, kid." Bastian said with a grin, right before the door of the room was busted open by Johnny's bike.

The ghost stared in disbelief and wonder at the Tesla Coils, and the bolts of what looked like lightning that were jolting around the room.

"Hey there, Johnny!" Danny said as he looked at the ghost. When Johnny focused on him, however, he cracked open the thermos and sucked him and his bike inside without batting an eyelash and sealed it tight.

A moment later, the rest of the group arrived, Jazz already in the full power armor of the Fenton Peeler, and looking disappointed when she got there an there was no ghost to kick the butt of. Letting the Peeler go back into the weapon portion of itself, she stepped in with the rest of the group as Mr. Falkenrath hit another button to shut off the coils.

"It's already over?" Jazz asked with a pout.

"Yeah, sorry sis." Danny said as he walked over to them, "Mr. Falkenrath and I took care of it."

Bastian just grinned a bit from where he now stood.

"You caught him already?" Sam asked with a little surprise in her voice.

"Nice work, dude." Tucker said with grin.

"Thanks, Tuck." Danny said, tossing him the Fenton Thermos. "Here's Johnny..."


End file.
